Indians dogged by lockdown loneliness adopt puppies and stray mongrels as they turn to animal companions

Name: Dogged by Covid-19 lockdown loneliness, more Indians adopt puppies
Uploaded: 2020-08-27T11:15:07.000Z
Duration: 2 min 21 s
Description: Dogged by Covid-19 lockdown loneliness, more Indians adopt puppies

India has been under lockdown for months and when restrictions partially eased, there was a rush to adopt puppies to ease anxiety

Shelter owners say younger people are more willing to adopt street dogs, and demand for training has risen

Reading Time:2 minutes

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A visitor cuddles a dog at the Fur Ball Story dog cafe in Gurgaon, near New Delhi. Its owner helps customers find puppies to adopt, and has seen a big rise in inquiries during India’s lockdown to combat coronavirus, which forced the cafe to shut. Photo: Money Sharma/AFP

Agence France-Presse

Published: 7:15pm, 27 Aug 2020Updated: 7:15pm, 27 Aug 2020

When Lakshmi Sundar brought a malnourished stray puppy into her home in the Indian city of Chennai, she thought the brown-and-white bundle of energy would be a guest for just a few weeks.

Her household is one of a growing number across India to have adopted a dog to cope with the loneliness inflicted by the pandemic.

“We bonded so well from day one, which is very rare … I don’t bond that easily with anyone,” Sundar, a 53-year-old who treats diabetes patients, said of the pup, named Meenakshi after a Hindu warrior goddess. “She’s a bundle of joy,” said Sundar

She says no one in the house wanted to give Meenakshi to another family. “And she has had a very calming effect on my daughter.”

02:21

Dogged by Covid-19 lockdown loneliness, more Indians adopt puppies

India – which has more than three million coronavirus cases – imposed a months-long lockdown to try and contain the spread. As case numbers grew and more people were stuck at home, early fears about pets being potential carriers turned into a search for love and friendship from the four-legged creatures.