By her own admission, the attention has shifted from Mohona Sengupta to her dog Nutty. “Wherever I go, Nutty is invited and people get so busy playing with him that they hardly notice me anymore,” says the girl in mock anger.
But having a popular pet sure has its perks. “My parents don’t scold me anymore for being a picky eater and most of my mischief gets ignored as we are all so busy fussing over Nutty,” she laughs.
Mohona has wanted a dog every day of her 11-year life. “But I’m allergic to dog fur. Luckily, after some research we learnt about hypoallergenic breeds like Shih Tzu that allergic people can be around,” she says.
Nutty’s entry into the family was a surprise for the sixth grader. “My parents took me to see some dogs; that’s something very common in my family. It was only after I met and played with a puppy there that I was told he was mine to take home! At first I didn’t believe it and then I started jumping and dancing with joy,” she laughs.
Mornings are a sight to behold in the Sengupta household with Mohona’s dad Vikram taking turns to wake up both Nutty and her. “While he says I’m tougher to wake up, Nutty needs an enormous amount of petting and cajoling too. My dad takes him to relieve himself in the washroom and sometimes he doses off there again while still standing!”
Nutty easily takes the crown for being the naughtiest in the house. The other day the broadband connection at home had snapped and the workers searched the cables all around the house, without finding a fault. “It was when they looked indoors that they found the router wire cut,” Mohona shakes her head, “by Nutty, of course. He also chewed the electric connection for the aquarium pump. It’s a good thing the power was off then.”
The dog has also been to Mandarmani where, though he was running away from the waves, he was chasing horses! “He’s so little but was fearless of the big beasts. The horses were running away from him and we were running after him,” Mohona laughs.
But nothing was funnier than when Nutty began howling at a Bhai Phonta ceremony at a relative’s house. “He heard the conchshell and decided to sing along.”
Mohona’s friends all love Nutty. “Once on online class, I showed him and they still ask after him,” she smiles. “As for me, I cuddle him so much that he escapes and hides in his crate!”