Pawsome Pets: This native dog cannot have enough of Chennai’s beaches

Prabhu is a parent to 2-year-old Chippiparai dog named CJ, that is extremely intelligent and full of energy. “When I learnt that a dog near my friend’s farm on the city outskirts had given birth to puppies, I wanted to give home to one. That’s how CJ came into my life two years ago, and ever since, we have been overwhelmed by his ability to think quick,” says Prabhu.

Chippiparai, which is a breed native to Tamil Nadu, were originally kept at the homes of royal families in Madurai and Tirunelveli, as a symbol of royalty. These dogs are also extremely good at guarding homes, and CJ is no different.

“He is constantly keeping a watch on people entering the home or even around the home. He does not allow people to drive fast around our home and alerts us of anything suspicious. However, he is extremely good with children and protects them,”Prabhu adds.

An incident that involved CJ’s quick thinking makes the family very proud of his abilities. “Few of our relatives’ children were visiting our home few weeks ago and they were all playing on our terrace. One of the young boys began to pull the legs of a girl during the play and the girl might have fallen off of the terrace if CJ didn’t stop the boy. CJ had noticed the incident and immediately rushed to the child’s rescue,” recalls Prabhu.

CJ is also quite an active dog,who loves to run and go on long walks with his human companion.

“He is particularly a fan of beaches, and loves to run on the Marina Beach. He also loves riding pillion on a bike during occasional outings. As a native breed dog, he needs to run at least 10 km a day, and we make sure he gets that exercise,” points out Prabhu.

With native breed dogs known to be more immune to many diseases than those of foreign breeds, Prabhu urges people to adopt indigenous breeds as well.