BENGALURU: It was raining cats and dogs at 9pm, quite literally, at Madiwala on Monday. At the police station in the area, a citizen seeking refuge from the raging rains hurriedly informed Venkatesh C, a 28- year-old police constable, that a puppy was being washed away by the water’s currents.
The road leading up to the market is sloping, Venkatesh said, adding that when it rains, there is a flood of water that rushes along this incline. The constable had been feeding Jahnu/Kaveri, the recent mother of four puppies, for years. “We are very fond of her. Anybody on duty will feed her and as a result, she is fond of almost every police officer,” he said.
However, the station wasn’t aware of the whereabouts of her puppies. “The sub-inspector told me that three puppies were getting wet and the fourth one I saw was getting washed away. Without thinking, I ran out to save them. It was difficult getting the one stuck in the current but we managed,” he said with a smile. The other officers in the station rushed to find blankets while Venkatesh fetched the puppy.
In a heart-warming turn of events, Jahnu, the mother of the litter, led Venkatesh to the rest. “The puppies were also completely drenched by the time I reached them. We hurried them in and dried them off,” he explained, adding that they then got some milk and snacks for Jahnu. The puppies and the mother had a safe place to rest in the station for the night and were then transported to a dry area just outside in the morning.
“This is something you do out of instinct, they deserved a safe and dry place to stay,” said Venkatesh. The incident came to light when Bengaluru City Police posted pictures of the rescued puppies with Venkatesh and other officers, and positive comments flooded the post on the social media.