Few things come close to the joy of being reunited with a loved one whom one thought was lost forever. On Friday, one such moment unfolded in Kerala’s Munnar, when 72-year-old Palaniamma, a survivor of the deadly landslide in Pettimudi, was reunited with her dog, Koovi. While it has been almost seven months since Koovi, the pet dog of one of the landslide-struck families of Idukki’s Pettimudi, saw Palaniamma. But all it took for Koovi to come running towards Palaniamma was her to call out the dog’s name.
Koovi had been adopted by the Idukki Police after the landslide. The canine had hit the headlines after helping police officials find the body of a one-year-old girl child. In March, TNM had reported about a grieving Palaniamma and her son Teepan, who lost 12 family members in the disastrous landslide that hit their line houses (or layams) in Pettimudi. The duo who was grievously injured, and had been undergoing treatment in hospital for months.
During this time, Koovi was adopted into the Kerala Police’s dog squad in Idukki after the dog helped rescue workers in Pettimudi find the body of a one-year-old Dhanushka. The child was one of Palaniamma’s grandchildren who died in the landslide.
After TNM reported that the family was desperate to get Koovi back, officials of police headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram intervened in the issue, paving way for Koovi to be reunited with the family.
“On Friday morning, the officials brought Koovi to the house where we live in Munnar. I just called Koovi’s name once and she came running to me. I don’t know how to thank everyone who made this possible. Getting her back is like getting back someone in the family,” Palaniamma told TNM.
The family started raising Koovi two years ago while she was a puppy. “She was so close to us and the kids,” the family had told TNM earlier. Getting Koovi back would mean so much more than what any compensation or a new house, Palaniamma had told TNM earlier.
“The news about the family’s desperate plea to get back Koovi had touched many of our hearts. That’s how we followed up the issue and made this reunification possible. We feel so happy to know that the dog is now with the family,” said VP Pramod, Deputy Director of the State Police Media Centre at Kerala Police headquarters.
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