Amrita De had up to 14 dogs at a time, while growing up. After marriage, her household didn’t have pets to begin with, as some members of her joint family were scared. Come pandemic and her husband and son talked them into getting a Retriever. It’s barely been three years since then and the dog count in this AD Block house has gone up to four!
“It began with our Golden Retriever Enzo. My husband Amit and son Arka convinced everyone that a puppy would help overcome the loneliness spreading during the pandemic. And in came Enzo in January 2021,” says Amrita. Then in March, Amit claimed a friend was gifting them a puppy and brought home Jacky, a Labrador. In June he brought home a German Shepherd pup and placed him on Amrita’s lap.
“This dog, Rocky, was different from the previous two. He loves me to the point of being possessive and wouldn’t let even my husband come close to me,” says Amrita, who is a singer, actress and producer of films like last year’s Subho Bijoya and Aparajita: An Unspoken Relationship. Amit, an advocate, has his chamber at home and the dogs stay there with him all day. But once a client had tried to barge in without alerting anyone and Rocky pounced on her such that she fell and broke an arm.
“Thereafter we felt he could do with professional help and have sent him to a residential dog training centre in Jamshedpur.” Initially, they also sent Jacky to give Rocky company in the new place. But big brother Enzo started missing him and he was brought back. When Jacky returned, Rocky started missing him. “We ourselves are missing him sorely,” says Amrita. “In the two months that Rocky’s been in boarding, we have visited him thrice.” The latest addition to the De family is a Belgian Malinois, Lucy, who came a fortnight ago.
“Lucy is the most agile and playful dog of the pack. I could never imagine a dog jumping as high as she does,” says Amrita, who also cares for six street dogs outside their home. A mom can never have favourites among her kids but Amrita confesses to having a soft corner for the first-born Enzo.
Rocky, the GSD, who is now in doggie boarding school
“Enzo doesn’t like us dividing our love with others. Every time we get a new dog he turns his face away from me and refuses to eat. I have to coax him and hand-feed him. But Jacky — even if he does feel a tad jealous of the new pups — is a true blue Lab and can never refuse food,” she laughs.
Jacky’s instincts are surreal. “On my way home, I’ll invariably get a call from Amit as I cross Ultadanga and enter Salt Lake. He’ll ask if I’m about to reach as Jacky would have started barking and fixed himself at the door waiting for me!” Amrita says.
Rocky will be back from boarding school by the end of the month and the Des look forward to celebrating the Pujas with all four canines. “It’s only after they’ve joined us that we realise how incomplete we were without them,” Amrita smiles. “Whether I feed them or scold them, they’ll never leave my side.”