Stray dog students tended to for 18 months breathes its last

Dharwad: It was a solemn morning for five students at the Akashvani Quarters in Dharwad, who bid a tearful adieu to their beloved dog, Gucchi. These five young souls had spent their pocket money on the treatment of the stray dog, to which they had been dutifully attending for the past 18 months. On finding that the dog was ill, the five students even went to the extent of getting it a caliper, which is a device that helps with the movements of the animal. Although their battle to save the dog’s life ended in defeat, their compassionate endeavour this past year-and-a-half earned them praise from across quarters.
Along with young businessman Jeev, BCA student Vinayak Shankar Manakatti, ITI student Rahul Lokapur, Sahil Killedar, who has completed PUC and Shekhar Girisagar, the youngest of the lot, who has cleared his class ten examinations. “The dog was born 18 months ago, and we observed very early that its left leg was weak. Once my examinations were over, on April 18, we took Gucchi to the veterinary hospital at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, where Dr Anil Patil treated the dog with great care. We even arranged for the dog to get an X-Ray, scanning and all the medicines that the doctor prescribed,” Manakatti told TOI.
Lokapur and Girisagar said that the dog was showing signs of recovery after it was treated by Dr Patil. “But it seemed to be losing control over its rear portion. We tried purchasing a wheelchair, but the prices were as high as Rs 25,000. We then looked up online tutorials on making a wheelchair, and purchased materials worth Rs 1,500 using our pocket money. All the residents were delighted seeing Gucchi moving about on the wheelchair. We started helping Gucchi with his food, even massaged it. We applied ointment on his wounds too,” the duo said.
Lamenting the death of their beloved dog, Killedar said, “His condition started to deteriorate rapidly over the past few days. The veterinary doctor said that Gucchi was plagued by a problem in the spinal cord, and was unlikely to survive for long. We were in despair when the dog died on Saturday.”
Animal lover Harshavardhan Sheelvant was full of praise for the youngsters who had displayed such compassion. “When the basis of human relations are at stake owing to modernisation, these children have displayed such kindness towards a stray dog,” he said.