28/05/2026
For the longest time, my husband and I wanted to adopt a dog, but were unsure how to go about it, given our hectic lifestyles. On my birthday last year, we decided to visit the Friendicoes shelter in Behrampur, accompanied by our friend Aarti, who is a regular volunteer there. As many dogs came to greet us with wagging tails, barks and jumps, one dog came and stood by us quietly, perhaps wanting to interact but not knowing how to. This was Mija. Noticing how she stood by his side, my husband joked that she would make a good coffee table.
Fast forward three months, and we decided to foster a dog to see if we can manage to keep a pet. We reached out to Tandrali, who recommended a few dogs based on our lifestyle, and we were back at the shelter to meet the doggos. Mija was not on this list.
We met the recommended doggos, but we still remembered Mija. Having come all the way, we thought we might as well say hi to Mija. When she came to us, she flopped down by my husband, and we knew we had to take her along.
Mija came to be fostered for 3 weeks, and went from being a shy girl who barely interacted with us to a confident dog with a scary bark who loves to play fetch. Seeing her open up and bloom with us won our hearts, and we made up our minds to welcome her home.
After another round of fostering, Mija finally came to our home in March this year. She has a string of admirers among our family and friends, plays fetch every other day, and much like her humans, loves her food!!!
Though Mija is a super easy and chill dog, we have had our fair share of learning to do as first time dog guardians. Walking her every day, keeping track of her medical needs, ensuring that no food is left unattended—all have been part of the learning curve, with tremendous help from the folks at Friendicoes such as Tandrali, Mukul and Padam, and other pet parents like Aarti. We look forward to continuing our journey with Mija. Her name derived from “mi hija” literally translates to “my daughter” and that’s what she has become to us.
