BENGALURU : Her name was Lola. She was a showgirl.  However, unlike the heroine in the Copacabana ditty,   this Lola has had a lovely journey. I saw her recently, ensconced luxuriously in her den, looking at me sleepily and my heart filled with such joy.I met her as a young puppy at twilight on New Years Day 2017 as she frantically chased after any young girl in jeans, presumably trying to catch up with whoever had abandoned her. I tried to hold the wriggling pup, gave her  biscuits and I requested the security guard to keep us safe for the night till I found something for her. She was white with orange marmalade spots, distinctive kangaroo ears and dark hazel eyes... All adorable, jumpy and shake-paw. 

I spent the next day and coming weeks searching for her and two months later, I thought I spotted a very familiar, distinctly kangaroo-eared,  half-grown pup begging for treats  at a close by roadside tea shop. I swerved  to a halt, doubling back to locate her, but she had disappeared.

Searching on foot, I reached the heritage BWSSB office the next day to enquire if they had seen her and rummaging through their grounds, I found her happily friending  some of the valve men. She was a survivor all right. I was so relieved  that she was safe and quite well taken care of. ‘What do you want to call her?’, I asked the youngest of the workers. He hesitated and then said, ‘Lola, madam. She is Lola.’

So Lola she was. I knew I needed to get this 6-month old cutie vaccinated and neutered soon. Despite the staff protests, I popped her into my car and to  Sarvodaya where she slept on my foot while they sedated her. When I brought her back, she bore me no ill will and even flashed her stitched up tummy. 

A month later, I hadn’t see her for a week so I sleuthed around till I realise this showgirl had upgraded herself to the verandah of the VIP room at Balabrooie Guest House, while keeping dibs at BWSSB too. It was terribly amusing  to announce myself to the Balabrooie gate security guard as a visitor for their resident dog. She decided to also patronize Mr Khan who lived opposite and her favourite was the security guard in the office complex next door. All over Miller’s Road was her haunt. 

Many months later, I met one of the office complex tenants who fed her too and he said she seemed very fond of being inside the game centre he ran. When I hadn’t seen her for a while  and casually called him, he said, ‘Well, she’s inside now most of the time!’  Then he sent me a picture of Lola lolling decadently on her new fancy plush purple doggy bed. On my previous visit to her, I saw Her Rotund Highness lolling on her dog bed, in the cool game centre that she had adopted, with her new human Ankit and all her pals around. My heart was full.  Lola had nested at last and finally buried the memory of the girl who discarded her. She was now home. 

The city is full of stories of good samaritans like Ankit who effortlessly do the right thing, smilingly allow themselves to fall in love with a dog’s kangaroo ears, and give the animal their ‘happily ever after’ without making too much of a fuss about it. I chuckle delightedly at the thought of Lola’s new collar and name tag, which will now have her new dad’s details. 

The author is a CXO search consultant, civic evangelist, Bangalore champion, Google-Doodle aspirer and certified dog slave since 2007.