The Bandra Girls: Part 3 (Doofus)

“Doofus actually chose us. Like, literally! She was one of the many dogs my parents used to feed on their daily rounds. We figured that she was abandoned by a family that lived in the area and they weren’t keen on taking her back. She was timid in nature then and used to be the last one to eat since she didn’t compete like the other strays for food. Apart from my folks, she was also fed by a guy who owned a mutton shop in that area.

An NGO picked her up, got her spayed and released her back into her area. But somehow, she managed to get her stitches opened up. She was about 1.3 years old when this happened. On noticing her wounds, my parents got her home and took care of her for the next 20 days, until she healed completely and released her back into her area. She continued living there for the next one year, without any issues.

Then, suddenly one day, she started following my parents, on a daily basis. There were times she would just climb in the car and refuse to get out. Similarly, she would sit in the autos that we traveled in. We tried dodging her since we had enough on our plate already. But somehow, she even figured the shortcuts we took to reach home. And once she knew where we lived, she parked herself in our area.

Doofus would sit on the divider in front of our building and keep staring at our flat. Come rain or shine, she didn’t give up. And finally, after a few days, we gave in to her persistence. It was just meant to be. My parents take her along for the feeding rounds every night. Since she has been a streetie earlier, she is quite street smart.

I would call her quite adventurous in nature and naughty too, which is where Lizzy ensures she doesn’t go overboard with things. All in all, she’s an 11-year-old, total Diva! “