Ajith Madhavan was understandably disheartened when he learnt that he would not be able to bring Koovi home. Koovi, the dog who found the dead body of her two-year-old owner Dhanushka from the landslide-hit Pettimudi in Munnar, was supposed to be adopted by the training officer with Kerala police dog squad. However, she has been adopted by Kerala Police's dog squad in Idukki.
Ajith had sought necessary permission from various officials to adopt Koovi. But as he was waiting for the final nod, his department decided to adopt the nearly 1.5-year-old mongrel.
"I really hoped to bring her home. I already have many dogs at my house. She would have been happy with them here. But the department has decided to adopt her to the squad," Ajith said.
Koovi had been present from the first day at the landslide-hit area, along with rescue teams, sniffing around and trying to search for her owner. A week after the landslide, Koovi found baby Dhanushka's body on August 14. She found the two-year-old's body under a bridge in the river.
Ajith was in Pettimudi with his dog squad for two days as part of the rescue operation. He found that Koovi had not been eating for a week, and then later gave her eggs and other food brought for the dogs in the police squad. Though Koovi refused to eat in the beginning, she slowly started eating and hanging around with him, Ajith had told TNM.
When Ajith left Pettimudi, he decided to adopt her. But, on Friday, he got an order from his department that the dog has been adopted to the squad.
Koovi might not be trained as a squad dog, but will be adopted and taken care by the department.
While Ajith said he is happy that Koovi is safe, he added, “But I will try in future to adopt her.”