MADURAI: If ever there was an example to buttress the oft-repeated phrase that dog is man’s best friend, it can be found in an unmarked grave on a small tract at Kalkondanpatti near Uthapanaiyakanur in the district. Hidden in the bosom of the freshly-covered grave are the remains of a fallen furry hero, who died in vain bid to save his master.
Police said that M Mukusu Thevar (65), a resident of Kalkondanpatti, had taken out his cattle for grazing on Tuesday morning. However, unknown to him, an electricity cable that had snapped in the overnight rain was lying unattended at the pasture. Mukusu noticed the cable only when one of his cows went precariously close to it. By the time Mukusu reached the cow, it had touched it and suffered electric shock.
In a vain bid to rescue the cow, Mukusu touched the live cable and suffered electric shock. Seeing Mukusu struggling, the family dog, Ramu, rushed to the spot and tried to pull away the live cable from his master. However, the dog too was electrocuted. Hearing the cries of the dog, Mukusu’s relatives went to the spot only to find all three dead. Mukusu’s relative Senthamilan (40) said that the former had been living with his sons. “The dog had been in the family for nearly seven years.
His heroic was something we were accustomed to. There had been times when he fought off snakes and vermin. Ramu was a loving and a devoted dog. We relied on him to herd the four cows,” he said. Ramu and the carcass of the cow were buried in tract owned by the family.