Brought up like own child, builder visits pet dog’s tomb every morning

Vadodara: It is a norm in every household to take bath after visiting crematorium, but a city-based builder daily visits Khaswadi crematorium in Karelibaug after taking his morning shower. While people visit temples every morning, realtor Prashant Hadgalkar visits the crematorium to pay respects to his pet dog that died 12 years ago.
It was a day right after his pet dog Tony died due to old age issues, Hadgalkar had made it a point to visit its tomb every morning. Tony was not among popular breeds that Hadgalkar family had bought. It was a stray dog that had made Hadgalkar residence its home.
“It was around 1995 and Tony, a pup, used to sit outside our house in Koylifaliya in Fatehpura. We used to give Tony food and milk daily before it suddenly disappeared one day,” said Hadgalkar. After a few months, the dog was found by an autorickshaw driver living in Hadgalkar’s neighbourhood in Chhani. “The autorickshaw driver had gone to Chhani to drop off a passenger during which Tony identified him and sat in his auto,” added Hadgalkar.
Since Tony’s return, he had made Hadgalkar’s house its own home. “I never leashed Tony because it was like my own son. It was not even imparted any training, but used to go out of the house on its own to answer nature’s call,” said Hadgalkar. “It never used to leave me. Wherever I went out, it used to climb behind me on my bike or used to follow me,” he said.
In 2007 when Tony passed away due to age-related ailments, it was buried at Khaswadi crematorium and Hadgalkar decided to build a marble tomb there. He said since Tony was a family member and like a son, he did not want to forget him. “My first visit is to the tomb where I offer fresh flowers and feed ‘ganthiya’ to birds and milk to other stray dogs and then I visit a temple,” Hadgalkar said. He visits the temple every day without fail except when he is not present in the city.
“It is a popular belief that a pregnant woman should not be taken to crematorium, but I took my wife on the morning of the day when she was to deliver our first child. I took my all three children to the tomb after they were born and even now they come with me,” he said.
Hadgalkar said he will continue to visit the tomb every morning in the years to come for Tony.