January 6 is a red letter day for the Shahs. Not only is it the birthday of their first dog Kutkut but it is while planning her birthday in 2017 that they met their second dog Zoya.

Both dogs came into their lives unexpectedly and chose them rather than the other way round. “A neighbour had to leave town for a week and was wondering if we would keep his three-month-old German Shepherd Dog. While I was speaking to the neighbour the puppy came and started nibbling at my feet. ‘Kya kutkut kar raho ho?’ I asked and she was christened,” smiles Bhawna Shah.

In seven days, Kutkut bonded so well with Bhawna that she refused to return to her original owner once he came back. She became family.

Then a few years later when the family was planning Kutkut’s birthday party on January 6, they heard of a neighbour who had lots of dogs. “We went over to invite them for the party and got to meet and play with his many dogs, including a friendly St Bernard puppy,” she says.

Sadly, the owner of those dogs abandoned them some months later and again, the Shahs were delighted to take the St Bernard Zoya in. Bhawna’s daughter Yukta named her Zoya, and Kutkut, despite being possessive of Bhawna, welcomed the puppy like an elder sister.

“Zoya would be beaten, abused and starved by her old owner. When she came to us you could count her ribs,” Bhawna says.

Now Kutkut is the disciplined dog and Zoya the spoilt brat. Kutkut likes her space and Zoya cannot be away from people. “She’s especially attached to my husband Sandeep and follows him even if he steps out of the room for a minute. If he goes to the washroom she’ll lie outside with her nose against the door,” Bhawna laughs. Her daughter Yukta loves the dogs so much that she hand feeds them every meal.

The dogs are enjoying the lockdown as they have the whole family around all day. The Shahs have also been feeding some 35 dogs in Vedic Village since March last year. “Out of these, six now live in our garden and have become play mates of Kutkut and Zoya,” says Bhawna. “In fact, they are almost our pets too.”