26 February,2022 08:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania
Bagheera was abandoned near Shivaji Park in 2018 and has been living there since
A five-year-old dog, who was missing for the last three months from Shivaji Park at Dadar West, was finally found from a farm house in Sangamner, Nashik on Friday. The dog had gone missing from its usual territory in Shivaji Park since Ambedkar Jayanti on December 6, a day when the area sees a high footfall.
Ruchi Singhi, a 29-year-old from the area who used to feed the dog, circulated posters and brochures, which led her to Nashik. She told mid-day, "Someone abandoned this dog around Shivaji Park in 2018. We found him and named him Bagheera due to his resemblance to the Mowgli character. Bagheera is popular in the area as he is friendly and never hurts anyone. He also protects other dogs and animals in the area. He went missing on December 6 when thousands of people came here to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti."
She said, "When I went to feed the dogs in the night that day, Bagheera was missing. Later I checked CCTV footage from the area and found that he was taken away by some youngsters. I managed to get the bike number and traced them to Sakinaka." Singhi added, "However, I learnt that Bagheera had managed to flee from their house. So I wrote several posts on social media and circulated brochures and posters in the area."
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Ruchi Singhi with Bagheera
She received the next information about Bagheera's whereabouts in January-end. "I got a call from a tomato vendor from Sakinaka who said he had found a dog and sent it to his village in Nashik, but the dog managed to escape."
"After learning that he had again escaped, we circulated posters and banners in Nashik. It was tough and challenging. Some Nashik-based friends helped circulate brochures and photos. It was Thursday night when we got a call from one Mr Banwade from Sangamner at Nashik. He said he found Bagheera and kept him safe at their farmhouse. My friends Neeta Pednekar, Pao Chin, Priya Ghadi and Dhanashree ma'am and I immediately left for Nashik and were finally reunited with our Bagheera, after three long months."
