The Hindu (Kochi)

Elderly couple reunite with missing pet after over a month

- M.P. Praveen

For over a month, Basil Thomas, 64, and wife Betaluna, 57, had received every phone call and WhatsApp message with bated breath and anticipati­on of some much awaited good news about their missing dog Kunji.

Eventually, it came on Friday night, when they received a call from a person who told them that he had perhaps spotted their threeandah­alfyearold Rajapalyam pet at Vazhakkala, just a few kilometres from Puzhakkara­padam at Vennala where they lived. “We rushed to the spot and confirmed that it was indeed our pet. However, she seemed to be in a trauma and kept running away from us. We somehow managed to bring her back. But she is still keeping aloof as if complainin­g about why we let her get lost,” said Mr. Thomas.

On Saturday, Kunji was taken to a veterinari­an who said she was all right and assured that she would be back to her old ways before long. For the elderly couple whose two children are abroad, the two pet dogs, the other being a Labrador, are like family members and missing one of them for oneandahal­fmonth ago was nothing less than traumatic.

Kunji had gone missing late one night and the couple realised it only later. As soon as they did, Mr. Thomas along with his friends had launched a mass hunt for her centered around a residentia­l colony of 75odd houses in the neighbourh­ood till early hours of the day.

“Later, while checking the CCTV images did we realise that, while we were searching for her in the colony, she had somehow reached the main road. She perhaps got chased by some strays or landed in front of motorists and lost direction,” said Mr. Thomas. Anguished, the couple printed a leaflet bearing the dog’s picture and got it distribute­d with newspapers and forwarded it across social media platforms. “She knows that she is back in the safety of her home. Now, we are just waiting her to get back to her playful old self,” said Mr. Thomas.

 ?? ?? Basil Thomas and his family with their pet dog Kunji.
Basil Thomas and his family with their pet dog Kunji.

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