On January 9, 2019, a female dog on Juhu beach gave birth to her third litter of eight puppies. Fortunately for her, the Rana family has been dedicated to the welfare of the animals on Juhu’s beach. Seven of the pups were adopted into good families. “What do the furry friends need?” asks Minakshi Rana, the matriarch of the family. “They just need food, love and shelter. They don’t demand too much.” With much love and care, the Ranas got seven of the eight adopted. “We made sure the mother saw the puppies getting adopted, knowing it was time for them to move on to better homes. She doesn’t look for the puppies [on the beach] anymore.”
Two of the puppies have ended up becoming the canine mascots for a popular tea and lunch stall in Juhu. Dilip Kumar Mahato, who’s been manning the shop for ten years, has always wanted a pet since he was child. But things never worked out. A year and a half ago, Mahato welcomed Jaggu, an indie pup into his brood. Unfortunately, a fatal bout of food poisoning ended their bond earlier than expected. “[His death] was always in my mind and I only got over it recently,” says Mahato. “I knew I wanted to get a pet again.” Two weeks ago, the stall owner brought Baba, from the Juhu beach litter of eight. Mahato’s employees, equally enamoured by the pup, helped him with the puppy’s care. When Baba was not napping alongside Mahato’s employees on a mat, Baba used to frolick behind the tea stall. But Mahato knew the pup missed his siblings so brought Babloo to keep Baba company. “They’re from the same litter so they have a lot of fun together,” laughs Mahato. “Dono bindaas rehte hai! (They’re both carefree).”
The Rana family had no qualms about the pups not being adopted into a traditional family set-up. Today, the tea stall owner, who lives in Cuffe Parade, brings his two mascots to work every day. And when Mahato’s employees insist, Baba and Babloo have a sleepover with their new friends.
