CHENNAI: The dog that was believed to be dead after it was thrown off a building terrace by two Chennai medicos, the video of which went viral and sparked a manhunt for the two students, has miraculously been found alive.
Hurt, battered, frightened, but still with a wag left in its tail. The animal was found by the police and handed over to the animal activists who have been baying for the arrest of the two men who shot the video and hurt the dog, two weeks ago. It is being treated now and is expected to recover well.
A little after 7.30 pm on Tuesday, animal activists Antony Rubin and Shravan Krishnan received a call that caused them equal parts astonishment and delight. "The police had been individually making enquiries of all the occupants of the building and while doing that, they found that a dog was cowering under the stairs of the boys' building," said Shravan Krishnan.
The Kundrathur police, who believed that the dog had died after being tossed off the terrace, called them in to ascertain whether it was indeed the dog in the video, "It can't walk straight and it has fractures to its right leg and injuries to its back. But it is the same colour and it urinated out of sheer fright when it is picked up," he added.
Shravan Krishnan also noted that a black spot visible in the video was matched with the dog found and so, they were able to confirm that it was indeed the same mongrel bandied about in the viral video. "What us truly astonishing is that even after what it has been through, it's tail is still wagging, just like it was in the video," said Shravan emphatically.
"The dog is very frightened and we are giving it treatment right now. It is stable and it might have survived because it landed on a grassy patch," he said, adding that the police have asked to be present when it is taken to TANUVAS (Madras Veterinary College) for a formal examination on Wednesday. Surgery and rehabilitation may be required in the near future.
As news broke out online that the dog was indeed alive, a string of reactions and happy outpourings of joy flowed on social media - to toast the survivor of what was condemned as a barbaric act of cruelty against animals. A picture of the dog heralding the news that it was alive was shared over 2500 times within an hour.