The Book of Dog is a project to which the editor and all the authors have contributed for free. All royalties will go to the following registered animal welfare charities.

Friendicoes SECA

271 & 273, Defence Colony Flyover Market

(Jungpura side)

New Delhi 110024

The Welfare of Stray Dogs

2nd Floor, Yeshwant Chambers

B. Bharucha Marg

Kala Ghoda

Mumbai 400 033

Voice of Stray Dogs

4062, 19th Main Rd

HAL 2nd Stage

Indiranagar

Bengaluru 560008

INTRODUCTION

‘If you’re lucky, a dog will come into your life, steal your heart, and change everything.’

I have a confession. Growing up, I was terrified of dogs. It was an entirely irrational fear—I’d never been bitten by a dog or had an unpleasant experience, but I was a timid child, fearful of many things I didn’t yet understand.

Social gatherings were a traumatic affair if the hosts had a canine member in the house—all hell would break loose, and everyone’s attention would be focused on keeping me calm and keeping the curious dogs away. For as anyone with a dog will know, one of the unwritten rules of the dog world is that the more you avoid them, the more they’ll come sniffing around you, puzzled by this strange presence in their territory that seems to be displaying highly questionable behaviour: which surely calls for a thorough investigation.

Life continued the way it was, with dogs and I maintaining a respectable distance from each other, occasionally coming close to curiously sniffing around the contours of these invisible but firmly drawn lines, but never crossing them—till (the irony!) I got married into a family of devoted dog lovers. Since my partner’s family lived in another city, this did not pose any immediate threat to my carefully constructed dog-free existence. But slowly, softly, dogs began to enter into conversations, and to hear dogs being spoken about with such affection stirred the first beginnings of curiosity in me. These weren’t just alien, scary beings any more; Chikky, Kellie and Brandy all became real characters, with defined personalities of their own.

And I began to wonder. What, really, would it be like to befriend a dog? Had I missed out on something special all these years? And I slowly came around to the idea of giving myself a chance to see what could happen.

Around this time, a friend in another city sent out a distress signal—he was moving and needed to rehome his pup—would we know anyone who might want to give little Simba a home? After days of intense discussions I hesitantly said yes, with all ‘fallback’ safety nets in place—if I couldn’t adjust to this startling change, we would have friends who would take in the pup, we’d get a trainer to make the adjustment smoother, it wouldn’t be the end of the world—and really, how much harm could a little pup do? The monumental decision was taken: a pup would enter our home and our lives. And thus began a period of intense preparation as we (anxiously, in my case) awaited the arrival of this new member.

But fate clearly had something else in mind. Due to a variety of circumstances, little Simba could not be sent to Delhi, and his family decided to keep him with them. And suddenly, it was unbearable that after all that anticipation and all that preparation, we weren’t going to have a dog! This was the biggest anti-climax, if there ever was one—we had to have a pup now, one we could call Simba since we had grown so accustomed to the name! We began asking around and found there was a family in our own neighbourhood that was looking for homes for their Labrador litter—would we want to take a look? We went across; I sat in the car, a bundle of nerves, while my partner went inside the house to see the pups.

Minutes later, this round, chubby, golden-white ball of fluff was put into my arms. And so, on a perfect day in February many years ago, little Simba came into our lives.

And completely changed my world.

I have always been at a loss for words when it comes to talking about Simba. It is said that there are life-altering instances that change everything about you and every belief or pre-conceived notion you’ve held on to. Simba was just that—a moment of falling completely, irrevocably, unquestioningly in love. With the sweetest temperament and the kindest heart, Simba was an old, old soul in a young body. There was dignity and kindness, a gentleness in him, which put everyone at ease (oh how I wish I had Simba in my life in my growing-up years!). If someone at home had a challenging day, Simba would pick up on that immediately and come sit next to them. He had many nicknames, each sillier than the next, and he’d respond to each of them. He patiently listened to the tuneless loud singing I subjected him to every morning, with a huge grin on his face, tail slowly thumping in support (appreciation may be taking it too far). He loved car rides and travelled with us everywhere, heading to the door automatically when he heard the word ‘drive’. He had a favourite blanket he carried around everywhere—including on his walks! He loved muffins, and was perhaps the only dog who recognized a café on sight, his tail immediately wagging in anticipation.

Simba completely won over my parents, who ended up loving him unreservedly; early mornings saw Simba and my father sit with each other in companionable silence, my father sipping tea and Simba lost in his own thoughts. Everywhere Simba went, he left a trail of smiles—people would stop and stare or give a pat to this calm and gentle dog with the kind, brown eyes, whenever we took him anywhere.

Simba’s arrival also opened up an entirely new world for me; from being scared of dogs, I now plunged headlong into a world inhabited by dogs and dog lovers. I made friends with other dog parents. I gradually became invested in issues around animal welfare, and those of animals in shelters desperately looking for someone to adopt them, abandoned dogs, and dogs living on the streets. I learnt about unethical backyard breeding, and about the many dogs who were given up by their families who couldn’t—or didn’t want to—take care of them. My heart sank on hearing stories of horror and mistreatment, and celebrated stories of rescue and hope.

Eventually, when Simba turned five, we got more dogs—to give Simba company, we told ourselves. But honestly I think we just loved the idea of being dog parents so much that we just had to expand our family. And so more dogs entered our heart and our home—the delightfully crazy brothers Jack Sparrow and Carlos; Cooper, who was rescued from a shelter; the tenacious Nikki, king of our street, who adopted our home after he was run over by a car; and more rescues: Junior and Muffin, and Custard. Our house became full of the most incredible, loving, amazing dog children (each of them with their individual, delightful personalities, and deserving a chapter and story of their own—but one I won’t get into here).

Simba did all that.

But there is a heartbreaking reality that every dog parent is aware of—one we skirt around and don’t put into words, but which lurks constantly at the back of our minds. Dogs have short lives. You will see them grow older, the gait become slower, the muzzle greyer. You will see the crazy zoomies turn into a slow and painful limp, and you will see that beloved face turn old. It is devastating, and even though it was something I knew would eventually happen, I wasn’t prepared for it—with Simba, or with any of the other dog children we had.

It is said that dogs come into our lives to teach us about love and depart to teach us about loss—and eleven years and one month after he entered our lives, Simba left us after a brief illness. And even though I knew that parting was inevitable at some point, losing him meant losing a part of myself. I know that I am now lesser. Something has changed irrevocably, and even the happiest day of the rest of my life will not be perfect, for it will be a day without Simba.

But dogs also teach you some of the most profound lessons of life. They teach you to live in the moment, to live for the moment. They teach you unconditional love, given so freely it sometimes makes you tear up and wonder what you did to deserve this. They teach you to love unreservedly, and never let the child die in you. And they teach you kindness.

In 2020, when Covid hit unexpectedly and the world went into lockdown, the dogs at home were probably the only ones not unhappy with this strange new world—their humans were home and spending time with them for longer periods: it was like hitting the jackpot! And it was the dogs who kept many of us sane and provided comfort—in a world where everything was uncertain, here were our dogs, delighted with this change of circumstance and making the most of it. And that’s when an idea I had thought about earlier slowly started taking shape—a book of essays and stories on these funny, furry, four-legged companions, an ode and a tribute to all the wonderful dogs from their devoted humans.

And that’s when another extraordinary truth about the effect of dogs came into play—dogs bring us together in a way few things can, and bring out the most remarkable side of us. When I started reaching out to writers I knew were pet parents, I was making a huge imposition and a demand on highly regarded authors and accomplished professionals who led busy lives—and I didn’t have much to offer: no money (in fact from the beginning I was keen that the royalties should go to animal welfare charities), no sight of a publisher at that stage—just a heartfelt request to these remarkable individuals to send in an essay on life with a dog.

And the messages and words of encouragement came pouring in from each one of them.

The first person I contacted was the wonderful Shobhaa De, having heard some fantastic stories of her beautiful dog Gong Li. And the always generous Shobhaa instantly responded with a yes, which was encouragement enough for me to reach out to some of the other writers and pet parents featured here: the dazzling Anuja Chauhan, whose very entertaining adventures with Chhabbis I had been reading about with immense interest; the wonderfully evocative Tishani Doshi, who had met some of our dogs and I knew was crazy about dogs herself; Rajdeep Sardesai, whose trusty companion Nemo was well known in circles in Delhi; the always kind Ashwin Sanghi—pet parent to the wonderfully named Simba; and friend of many years Jai Arjun Singh, with whom most of my conversations have been around dogs.

In this book, you will see accomplished translator Arunava Sinha’s dog Tingmo wielding the pen to write some haikus about a typical day in his life, while Cyrus Broacha turns his humorous gaze on the dogs (and accompanying humans) in his building. Ashok Ferrey talks about his ever-expanding dog family with affectionate humour and resignation (we’ve been there, Ashok), and in a lovely piece, the immensely gifted Mahesh Rao talks about the fictional dogs who were his companions when he was growing up, since he was unable to have dogs of his own owing to a medical condition in the family.

Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi pens the experience of his early years as a dog trainer in exquisite prose as only he can, and in a poignant piece the talented Anindita Ghose writes about her Kafka’s obsession with mangoes, and how that was to be the final moment of truth. Jerry Pinto’s unnamed dog protagonist takes it upon himself to school a younger pup on the unpredictable ways of the world, while Fiona Fernandez turns her gaze to Jim Brown, a dog from her childhood she remembers and misses to this day. Manjula Narayan talks about some precious moments of solitude with her soul dogs for company, and in a moving piece, Keshava Guha turns the light on his relationship with his dog Pumba, during a particularly difficult period in his life.

In these pages, you will also meet the delightfully named Sunderapandi and Nachimuthu, Anita Nair’s beautiful pups; and in a wonderfully charming and nostalgic piece, Mark Tully, a devoted dog lover, reminisces about all the wonderful dogs in his life.

Nilanjana Roy has written elegantly and memorably on her cats, but I knew she was a compassionate dog lover as well (our lovely children Jack and Carl came into our lives thanks to a phone call from her, for which I am forever in her debt), and I was so grateful when she agreed to write a piece for the book. I discovered that the academician Ananya Vajpeyi was a devoted dog parent through her beautiful, evocative posts on her lovely dog children Anokhi and Kishmish. I reached out and was delighted when she agreed to write a piece, despite her intensely busy schedule at the time.

I have always been a fan of Gillian Wright’s writing and have known her to be a passionate dog lover; her piece on the dogs of a lifetime makes for wonderful reading. Paro Anand is another devoted dog parent, and I have had several conversations with her around her rescue dogs—I’m so happy to make the acquaintance of her two children Gia and Nadia through her piece. And it’s delightful to meet the loyal Gaddies (mountain dogs) in Bulbul Sharma’s piece—I have met a few Gaddies and have always been struck by their air of independence combined with unwavering devotion to those they love and protect. Manu Bhattathiri’s piece on Yippee will make you smile—he sounds like such a delightful character, and I so wish I had had the opportunity to meet him!

I was also very fortunate to get contributing pieces from the peerless Gulzar—his love for his Boxer Pali is well known, and here he shares a poem and a note on Pali (translated into English by Udayan Mitra, also the publisher of this book). And everyone’s beloved writer Ruskin Bond delights us as always with a tender piece on a dog who could see a spirit—it is something that only he could write.

Acclaimed mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik contributes a wonderful piece about dogs in Hindu myth, while historian Aanchal Malhotra has a fascinating and very informative essay on dogs deployed in World War I. Sumita Mehta writes a lovely, entertaining and nostalgic piece on one of the most famous dogs in the country—Editor. Prerna Bindra’s love for her wonderful Doginder has been documented by her earlier; in her new piece she beautifully captures an inimitable conversation with Doginder. And Amitava Kumar turns his gaze at his younger self as he finally finds a chance to say goodbye to a faithful friend.

The visual essays in the book are all gorgeous. Leading filmmaker, screenwriter and photographer Sooni Taraporevala beautifully captures the free spirits of Marine Drive—these photos will make you smile; the highly accomplished Sarnath Banerjee does a brilliant piece on the life of Shehzada Ozu, the postcolonial Pekingese; and Divya Dugar, who leads the ideal life travelling with her dogs around the country and runs the very entertaining and popular Chaos in a Coupe on Instagram, talks about the joys and travails of travelling with three dogs and a baby in trains, and we get to see some lovely photos of their adventures as well.

One morning, a friend sent across the unforgettable image of a beautiful older dog bathed in sunlight, eyes closed—and there was an indescribable peace in that one photograph. Reading up on him I realized this was Kaju, the dog adopted by the tremendously talented graphic artist Orijit Sen. Orijit was kind enough to share Kaju’s story—a sad beginning but a happy ever after, and I’m delighted Kaju features in this book.

There are also some astounding standout pieces from new voices. Naomi Barton writes with astonishing clarity in her stunning piece about Melody and Angel—bringing to mind that old saying: In reality, it is dogs who rescue us, rather than the other way round. Meenakshi Alimchandani, who opens up her home and her heart to give retired Greyhounds a second chance (Greyhounds are unfortunately used in dog racing in the US, and often put down once they outlive their ‘purpose’ on the track), writes about these incredible dogs with an aristocratic lineage. And Shrutkeerti Khurana writes about the challenges and joys of parenting a toddler and a small dog, in a very sensitive and heartfelt piece.

The wonderfully multi-talented Vikas Khanna has been busy with a new role—that of a parent to his dog child Plum. He writes about how Plum has changed his life dramatically—and as a bonus, gives us a recipe for what sounds like a delicious dog treat (clearly extending his culinary fan following into the canine world).

I have been following Abhishek Joshi for many years on social media and have always marvelled at his tireless energy in trying to find homes for dogs in need; in his poignant piece, he writes about the passing of his beloved dog Kaali. Geetan Batra’s daughter is also a ‘serial rescuer’—and Geetan’s purported air of weary acceptance is actually a cover for a compassionate heart which is always open to giving shelter to animals in need—her lovely piece is an indication of that.

One of the pieces closest to my heart (though who am I kidding—they’re all close to my heart) is my friend Sian Morton’s piece on the draconian Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), and her beloved dog Alex’s desire to live a normal life after being seized (the horrors we inflict, and the many ways we devise to make lives miserable for dogs could make for another—long—book). Sian and I met many years ago on a campaign we worked together on to help rescue Lennox, a dog seized under BSL—we lost that campaign, and Lennox was tragically put down under the law. It is fitting that Sian’s wonderfully compassionate piece is about another dog—her lovely Alex—another victim of BSL, who finally found his forever home with her. Sian has devoted her life to spreading awareness about BSL and I’m tremendously grateful to her for writing this piece, which is as informative as it is engaging.

My role models in the past few years have been animal rescuers. It takes the highest form of compassion, combined with a great degree of selflessness, to devote your life to animal welfare, with its many heartbreaks and challenges. I just had to feature stories from some of the rescuers I have had the honour of knowing personally, and I’m so very grateful and delighted to feature pieces by Atul Sarin—the founder of Welfare of Animals in Goa (Atul gave up his career as a barrister in London to move to India to start a shelter)—Tandrali Kuli, who works tirelessly at Friendicoes in Delhi to rescue dogs and find them homes, and Maneka Gandhi, who actively put the spotlight on animal welfare in the country, and is one of the most passionate advocates of animal rights I have met.

My deepest gratitude to all these wonderful contributors—and all their marvellous dogs—who have made these pages come alive.

A heartfelt thank you to my wonderful agent, friend and fellow dog lover Mita Kapur of Siyahi, who agreed immediately to take on representation for this book and championed it passionately; Mita also very generously agreed to waive her fee since all royalties from the book are being donated to animal welfare. And gratitude to the wonderful team at HarperCollins India for taking this book on and sharing our vision for it—in particular to Udayan Mitra, a devoted dog lover himself who worked tirelessly on the book and gave the most insightful feedback, Bonita Vaz-Shimray, the art director who had several brilliant inputs, Shatarupa Ghoshal and Ujjaini Dasgupta, the editors on the book, and Shivendra Singh and Rahul Dixit. Thanks also to Tarang Maheshwari for his evocative illustrations, and to the wonderfully talented Gavin Morris, who made the book come alive with his design.

So much gratitude to my parents who cheerfully accepted—and wholeheartedly loved—all the dogs who joined our ever-expanding family, and to Savita, who brought that little decorative blue bell for Simba the day he came home—he adored that bell, just as he adored her.

No words will ever be enough for Ananth, who showed me what I had been missing all these years, and opened my heart to the indescribable joys of life with dogs.

These are stories of love, and stories of loss—for that is the nature of being a dog parent. But there is also tremendous joy and laughter, silliness (everyone should be silly once in a while—nothing to beat an old-fashioned bout of silliness to get some perspective), and the sheer, simple happiness that dogs bring into our lives.

Dogs make our world better. As you go through these pages and read these stories, you will share in some of the best moments and adventures of what it is like being a dog parent.

And if you haven’t yet, I hope you will meet your Simba one day.

December 2021

Hemali Sodhi

Everyone thinks they have the best dog … and none of them are wrong.

The Average Sri Lankan Family

ASHOK FERREY

Not so long ago we were the perfectly average Sri Lankan family—father, mother, son, daughter, one dog, half a cat. (Almost every other family in Sri Lanka has a cat, so that means every family has half a cat; or a little less if you want to split cats.)

Oh, how I long for those days!

So when did the rot set in, I hear you ask. When did the decline begin?

One morning, after my daily toil of many, many minutes at the unfinished novel, I came downstairs for a break.

‘There’s a dog in the front room,’ I informed the Wife.

‘Oh?’ she replied with casual insouciance. (She does casual insouciance very well, the Wife.)

‘It has lots of hair,’ I said. Our normal dog has very little. It is an average Sri Lankan dog, remember.

‘That’s lucky,’ said the Wife.

‘Really? I never knew long hair was a sign of luck.’

‘No, I mean that’s her name. Lucky. Anyway,’ she pointed out, ‘you don’t have much hair. Could that be why you never sell any books?’

Pretending not to hear this, I began to pet Lucky. A car had run over her front paws and somebody had dumped her at the vet’s. She was now recovering and the Wife (naturally) felt she had to give her a home. Lucky sat on the Persian carpet, looking at us with the most enormous, beautiful eyes. Kind eyes.

A day later she had chewed a hole in the Persian carpet the size of a dinner plate. She obviously had an eye for fine things, and felt the design needed improvement. The Wife rolled up the carpet and put it away. ‘She’ll get over it,’ she reasoned. ‘Just give her time to forget about the carpet.’

Next day Lucky began on the cushions. The Wife put these away too, what was left of them. ‘I’m a great fan of minimalism,’ she explained.

‘So I noticed,’ I shot back, ‘last time I looked in your shoe cupboard.’ (The Wife has a humongous almirah groaning with shoes, mostly unworn. She is the uncrowned Imelda Marcos of Colombo.)

Our other dog ignored Lucky, the cat ran rings around her, and life returned to normal. Till the Wife next came back from the vet’s. Now, the Wife goes to the vet to spend any free time she has, the way other people go to the British Council library. She always returns with something.

‘There’s a dog in the front room,’ I said. (It is so satisfying when you have rehearsed the script, and you’re more or less word-perfect.)

‘That’s Crisco,’ the Wife said.

I would have preferred a little more casual insouciance in her delivery but there you are. Nobody’s perfect.

‘Crisco?’ I exclaimed. ‘Crisco?’

‘They found her outside the Crisco factory in Ratmalana, so she’s called Crisco. She has cancer. Only weeks to live, I’m afraid, so let’s make them her best.’

Crisco looked at us with the most enormous, beautiful eyes, etc. etc., and life settled back to normal. As much as it can with a cancer patient in the house. Meaning regular visits to the vet for chemo, radio, tomo and many other treatments ending with the letter ‘o’, all costing in the thousands-o.

Weeks turned to months and before you knew it a full year had passed. Crisco continued to flourish. Meanwhile, my hair had begun to fall out. With worry, I think.

‘Well, it’s a good thing I’m the one who’s paying,’ said the Wife, trying hard not to stare at the bald patch on my crown. ‘Otherwise just imagine how many books you’d need to sell!’ She gave me a withering look. I withered.

This is not where this story ends, though.

After that came Jools, jolly Jools with the appetite of a smallish elephant. Followed by Fritz, of the two differently coloured eyes and (I suspect) half a brain, so called because he came from a German rescue home in Galle. Then there was Popeye, snarling ferocious Popeye who took one look at a visiting British High Commissioner and squirted all over his handmade nut-brown brogues. I never knew he felt so strongly about Anglo–Sri Lankan relations—the dog, I mean, not the envoy. And then Paloma, who diligently dug up and chewed her way through the entire sprinkler system laid at great expense under the front lawn. The garden is now as dry as Outer Mongolia.

‘Just think of all those water bills we’re saving,’ the Wife sang out joyfully.

‘Just think,’ I sang back.

The Wife fed and took care of all these canines ceaselessly, selflessly. A sort of Florence Nightingale in killer heels. And the rest of us? Well, you know the famous saying—behind every successful woman there’s an average family? That is us.

It isn’t all bones and roses in this canine dream world either. There are strict laws governing their behaviour. Some are downstairs dogs; some upstairs; yet others—a favoured few—are allowed on the bed. At this point the story begins to get murky, so anyone who doesn’t own a dog, please stop reading right away, before I offend your delicate sensibilities. Dogs on the bed can only mean one thing: tiny patches of damp on the sheets when they get excited and lose control, or when it’s raining and they simply cannot be bothered to go outside and get their paws wet. In the tropics you naturally expect damp patches on the ceiling and rising damp in the walls. On the mattress, however? But the Wife is a very forgiving sort.

I only wish I were. ‘Do you know there are certain homes,’ I began bravely, ‘where dogs are only allowed on the bed for a few hours during the day? And that at night they have to go downstairs to sleep?’

‘Really?’ said the Wife icily. ‘I suppose you could always go downstairs to sleep if it bothers you so much.’

And so we carry on—in that age-old war between Canine and Man. Or more accurately, Canine and the Average Sri Lankan Family. No prizes for guessing who’s winning. If there’s ever a fire in this house at night, and they form a dramatic human chain (as they do in films) to rescue the valuables, with the Wife directing operations in her booming—sorry, I mean dulcet tones, I know it won’t be the artwork or the antiques or even the Average Family Members that are taken out first. As for me, I will be fast asleep in bed, I suppose, done to a turn on both sides, nice and crisp and even.

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About the Book

There’s nothing quite like the incredible relationship between a human and a dog. From the moment we lay eyes on an adorable puppy or a wonderful adult dog who becomes part of our life journey, we share innumerable moments of pure joy with our furry best friends.

With forty-five original pieces by some of India’s leading writers, outstanding new voices and individuals who have dedicated their lives to animal welfare, The Book of Dog is a testament to how deeply dogs touch us, to the special bond we have with them and the unique place they hold in our hearts and our lives. Through a series of unforgettable real-life stories—funny, poignant, warm and joyous—the authors celebrate the remarkable dogs they have known and loved.

This book is a must-read for everyone who cherishes dogs and the perfect gift for a dog-lover friend. It will engross and delight readers of all ages as they go through one memorable story after another.

About the Authors

AANCHAL MALHOTRA is a Delhi-based oral historian and writer. She is also the co-founder of the Museum of Material Memory, a crowd-sourced digital repository tracing family histories and social ethnography through heirlooms, collectibles and antiques from the Indian subcontinent. 

ABHISHEK JOSHI is the founder of Dog with Blog (https://dogwithblog.in), a niche community that aims at finding homes for stray and abandoned dogs across India. They have organized 900+ free adoptions, and counting.

AMITAVA KUMAR is the author of several books of fiction and non-fiction. His two children want him to get them a dog.

ANANYA VAJPEYI is a fellow and associate professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. She works at the intersection of intellectual history, political theory and critical philology.

ANINDITA GHOSE is a writer and journalist. She was previously the editor of Mint Lounge and the features director of Vogue India. In 2019, she was a Hawthornden writing fellow. Her debut novel, The Illuminated, was published in 2021.

ANITA NAIR is an award-winning novelist, poet and playwright. Her latest book is the novel Eating Wasps. Anita is also the founder of the creative writing and mentorship programme Anita’s Attic.

ANUJA CHAUHAN worked in advertising for over seventeen years and is the author of several bestselling novels. She lives outside Bangalore with her husband, their three children and a varying number of dogs and cats.

TINGMO is a poet and a Golden Retriever, owner of ARUNAVA SINHA, a translator and teacher of creative writing.

ASHOK FERREY writes books and designs houses. His latest book, The Ceaseless Chatter of Demons, was nominated for the DSC Prize, and his last house, The Cricket Club Café in Colombo, for a Geoffrey Bawa Award.

ASHWIN SANGHI is one of India’s highest-selling English fiction authors. He has also co-authored two New York Times bestselling crime thrillers with James Patterson. He lives in Mumbai.

ATUL SARIN is the founder of Welfare for Animals in Goa (WAG), which rescues and rehabilitates as many stray animals as possible. Atul also pioneers new programmes towards enhancing animal welfare, which include free sterilization and ensuring sustainability.

BULBUL SHARMA has published some twenty books and has been translated into French, Italian and Chinese. She likes to add a dog in every story she writes for adults or for children. 

CYRUS BROACHA is a theatre personality, comedian, political satirist, columnist, podcaster and author. He was the host of the popular TV show Bakra (MTV) and currently anchors The Week That Wasn’t (CNN News18).

DEVDUTT PATTANAIK writes on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He is the author of more than fifty books and over 1,000 columns.

DIVYA DUGAR is a documentary producer and freelance journalist, and a former correspondent for the French television channel France 2. She also writes for various publications about travelling with dogs and a toddler.

FIONA FERNANDEZ, retrophile, heritage nut and senior journalist, frequently scouts for hidden stories in Mumbai’s corners and contours, and while on these adventures she almost always spots or befriends an Indie or two. 

GEETAN BATRA has been a journalist, worked on renovating old buildings, run boutique resorts and set up craft bazaars while playing mom to two strong-willed daughters and fostering creatures big and small. She lives in Delhi.

GILLIAN WRIGHT is a Delhi-based author and translator. Her works include a delightful account of her adventures with her dog Mishti, titled Mishti the Mirzapuri Labrador.

GULZAR, one of India’s leading poets, is also a renowned scriptwriter, film director and lyricist. He has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Bhushan, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, an Oscar and a Grammy. He lives and works in Mumbai.

JAI ARJUN SINGH is a Delhi-based journalist and writer. He writes on books and films, but also on many other subjects such as evil water tanks, Delhi traffic and dogs.

JERRY PINTO is a Bombay-based writer of poetry, prose, non-fiction and children’s fiction. He is the award-winning author of Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb and Em and the Big Hoom.

KESHAVA GUHA is a writer of fiction as well as literary and political journalism. His novel Accidental Magic is set in a community of adult Harry Potter obsessives.

MAHESH RAO’s debut novel, The Smoke Is Rising, won the Tata Lit Live! First Book Award for fiction. He is the author of One Point Two Billion, a collection of short stories, and Polite Society, a novel. 

MANEKA GANDHI is a politician, writer, environmentalist and animal rights activist. In 1992 she founded People for Animals, one of India’s largest animal welfare organizations.

MANJULA NARAYAN enjoys reading books and riding motorbikes. She is Books Editor at Hindustan Times and hosts Books&Authors, a weekly podcast on www.htsmartcast.com. She is @utterflea on Twitter and Instagram. 

MANU BHATTATHIRI is the author of Savithri’s Special Room, The Town That Laughed and The Oracle of Karuthupuzha. He lives in Bangalore with his parents, wife, daughter and no less than three dogs.

MARK TULLY was a correspondent for the BBC in South Asia for twenty-two years and host of the popular BBC Radio 4 programme Something Understood. He is the author of several well-known books.

MEENAKSHI ALIMCHANDANI is a Toronto-based literary consultant who specializes in South Asian literature. She consults for Canadian publishers and promotes several well-known authors. She is also an ardent dog lover.

NAOMI BARTON works as a digital sheep-wrangler at The Wire, where she also occasionally writes. In her free time, she takes her dog to visit priceless ancient monuments, which she appreciates with due respect, and her dog sometimes pees on. 

NILANJANA S. ROY is a novelist, columnist and editor who lives in New Delhi. She writes a regular column for Financial Times on the reading life. She is the author of several books, including The Wildings; her third novel, Black River, will be out in 2022.

ORIJIT SEN is a graphic artist, muralist, cartoonist and designer. He is the chief editor of Comixense, a magazine for young adults. In 1990, he co-founded People Tree, a collaborative studio and store for artists, designers and craftspeople.

PARO ANAND has written books for children, young adults and adults, and is a Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Award winner for her book Wild Child. She has spoken and written extensively on children’s literature.

PRERNA SINGH BINDRA has been at the forefront of the battle to conserve India’s wildlife. She is the author of several books, including The Vanishing. Prerna lives in Gurgaon but her heart, she says, resides in the forest.

RAJDEEP SARDESAI is an award-winning senior journalist and TV anchor. He is the author of the bestselling 2019: How Modi Won India and Democracy’s Eleven: The Great Story of Indian Cricket.

RUSKIN BOND is one of India’s best-loved writers, with numerous short stories, essays, novels and books to his credit. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2014. He lives in Landour, Mussoorie.

SARNATH BANERJEE is the author of the graphic novels Corridor, The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers, The Harappa Files, All Quiet in Vikaspuri and Doab Dil.

SHOBHAA DE is a bestselling author and columnist, and one of India’s most respected opinion shapers. She lives in Mumbai with her family.

SHRUTKEERTI KHURANA is programme director at Infosys Foundation and an independent editor who has worked with various authors, including Sudha Murty and APJ Abdul Kalam. She lives in Bangalore with her family and three goofy dogs. 

SIAN MORTON lives in the UK and is an animal lover and ethical vegan. She campaigns for changes to the law concerning ‘dangerous dogs’ by volunteering with DDA Watch, a not-for-profit organization.

SIDDHARTH DHANVANT SHANGHVI is the author of The Last Song of Dusk, The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay, The Rabbit & the Squirrel and Loss. He lives in north Goa.

SOONI TARAPOREVALA is a photographer, filmmaker and screenwriter of films such as The Namesake and Salaam Bombay!. Her directorial debut, Little Zizou, won the National Award for Best Film on Family Values in 2010.

SUMITA MEHTA, a journalist for several decades, continues to write, and works with development agencies. A follower of Nichiren Daishonin’s Buddhist philosophy, her love for animals and nature stems from a deeply felt sense of interconnectedness.

TANDRALI KULI has been wildly passionate about animals since a young age. After graduating from Delhi University in 2003, she began volunteering at Friendicoes. She now heads the adoption programme at the rescue organization.

TISHANI DOSHI publishes poetry, essays and fiction. Her most recent books are the novel Small Days and Nights and A God at the Door, her fourth full-length collection of poems. She lives in in a small village on the beach in Tamil Nadu.

VIKAS KHANNA is a Michelin Star chef, restauranteur, cookbook writer, filmmaker, TV host and humanitarian. He is the host of MasterChef India, Twist of Taste and Mega Kitchens on National Geographic. He lives in New York.

About the Editor

HEMALI SODHI is the founder of A Suitable Agency, which represents writers and advises on corporate communications and brand strategy. She is also the head of communications at the Centre for Policy Research, a leading think tank based in Delhi, and consults with the New India Foundation.

A dog person and a pet parent, Hemali supports several animal welfare organizations. She is passionate about books and travel, and describes her best days as those spent in the company of dogs. She lives in Gurgaon with her husband, and three of the best dogs on the planet.

Hemali can be reached at sodhi.hemali@gmail.com.

Clockwise from top right: Gulzar with Pali, Maneka with Goofy, Rajdeep’s Nemo, Naomi’s Melo, Tishani’s Buggy and Zelda, Anindita with Kafka, Manu’s Yippee, and Ananya with Rufus and Laika.

Clockwise from top right: Ashok’s Fritz, Lucky and Jools, Aanchal’s Juno and Keats, Fiona’s Cocoa (the new Jim Brown), Abhishek with Kaali, Sian’s Alex at home and in a muzzle, Anuja with Chhabbis, Atul and the dogs of WAG, and Geetan’s Begum and Lola.

Clockwise from top right: Ashwin’s Simba, Gillian’s Soni, Anita’s Sunderapandi and Nachimuthu, Tandrali with Lara, Meenakshi with EeVee, Jai’s Chameli, Siddharth’s Lila, Shobhaa with Gong Li, and Arunava with Tingmo.

Clockwise from top right: Prerna with Doginder, Shrutkeerti’s daughter Krishnaa with Toffee, Vinod with Editor, Vikas with Plum (photo courtesy Ylva Erevall), Paro with Nadia and Gia, Manjula’s Kondhi, Biskut and Kuro, and Jerry with a pup.

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First published in India by HarperCollins Publishers 2022

4th Floor, Tower A, Building No. 10, Phase II, DLF Cyber City,

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Anthology copyright © Hemali Sodhi 2022

Copyright of individual chapters vests with the respective authors.

The quote on p. xxiii is by W.R. Purche. The quote at the beginning of the Introduction is unattributed.

P-ISBN: 978-93-5489-356-8

Epub Edition © December 2021 ISBN: 978-93-5489-364-3

The views and opinions expressed in this book are the authors’ own and the facts are as reported by them and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.

For sale in the Indian subcontinent only.

The Book of Dog is a project to which the editor and all the authors have contributed for free. All royalties will go to registered animal welfare charities.

Hemali Sodhi asserts the moral right to be identified as the editor of this work.

All rights reserved under The Copyright Act, 1957. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers India.

Cover and text design: Gavin Morris

Cover and endpaper illustrations: Tarang Maheshwari

Photos of the dogs are reproduced courtesy of the individual authors.