If Elahe Gupta starts giving Bhootu a belly rub, Casper comes running. If she gives Casper a belly rub, Bhootu comes running. And before long the girl finds herself sitting between two dogs, petting both on either side.

Not that she’s complaining. Elahe has always lived with pets and calls them her best friends. Their previous dog Aasra passed away when she was in kindergarten and a couple of years later, they got Casper and Bhootu. “We found them as puppies outside our house and after some coaxing, my parents agreed to bring them in,” says the 12-year-old.

She named them Bhootu, after a TV serial she would watch back in the day about a child-ghost, and Casper, another friendly fictional child-ghost. The jet black Bhootu was born smaller in size than the black-and-white Casper and so Elahe, who herself was knee-high then, would find it easier to handle the former.

“I would practise my ballet steps holding Bhootu for support,” she laughs. The seventh grader has now switched to learning the keyboard and the dogs diligently attend her online music classes with her. “When the lockdown began, they were a little confused as to why I was cooped up in a room instead of being at school and why I would stare at a screen that emitted voices of my teachers. Now they have got used to it,” she says.

The dogs are the best of buddies but also like to get back at each other. Bhootu is scared of thunder and once it strikes, scurries to hide under the bed. Casper will then pull her out by the legs. “Then again, if we are ever late in serving them lunch, Casper, the foodie, goes and chews leaves on the terrace. Then Bhootu goes and pulls her away by the legs,” Elahe laughs.

The dogs have a convenient arrangement at mealtimes. Casper eats half her bowl and stops to see how Bhootu is faring. Usually Bhootu leaves mid-way without eating her entire share. Casper will then attack her sister’s portion first and then return to her own bowl at leisure.

Elahe is quite proud of having “Indie” dogs as her pets. “Pedigreed dogs may be prettier,” reasons Elahe, “but Casper and Bhootu are as loving as they can get.”

If you have a pet you have brought up at home as a family member and which has its eyes only for you, write to us with your contact number at The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abp.in