Love and loss are both matters of the heart. Canine behaviourist and myotherapist Sindhoor Pangal, who has had to see herself through these emotional upheavals while writing a book about dogs—an animal whose mind she is still trying to unravel—says if there was someone who saved her from drowning it was her pet, Cheeru.

When Bengaluru-based Pangal, who is the director at BHARCS, a premier canine behaviour education academy in India, began work on the book five years ago, her family was full—Pangal and her husband Uttam were proud pet parents of boxer, Nishi, and Cheeru, a rescued dog. Not too long after she had completed her manuscript in 2020, Nishi passed on. In February this year, Pangal lost her husband. These immeasurable losses may have shattered the image of the happy family, but Cheeru, otherwise, shy and wary of people, has taken on the role of her protector, Pangal realised.  
  
Her forthcoming book, Dog Knows: Learning How to Learn From Dogs (HarperCollins India), feels like a timely reminder of why animals play such an instrumental role in our lives, and how understanding them, helps us understand ourselves.