A touching tale of human-animal bond amid floods

French nationalist leader Charles de Gaulle had famously remarked that the better he get to know men, the more he found himself  loving dogs. Now, his pearls of wisdom are apparently finding resonance in Kerala. Reghu PS, a civil police officer from Thrissur posted at the Fort Kochi tourism police station, discovered the canophile in him after he met Julie, a stranded Pomeranian dog who was struggling for its life in water as floods ravaged Kerala in August. 

Reghu was with the disaster rescue team of Kerala police during the floods. On the night of August 15, Wednesday, he heard the plaintive cries of a dog from the roof of a submerged house. As Reghu could not locate the dog amid the rescue mission, its wails haunted him throughout the night. “I felt guilty for  my indifference to a poor creature which called for help. I couldn't resist getting back to the location the very next morning,” Reghu recalls. 

After a brief search, Reghu heard Julie's faint call. He removed his uniform and swam in the direction. “I saw a snout out of water. I rushed to the poor animal and lifted it. Some random piece of barbed wire injured my thighs on my way to Julie but nothing stopped me from following my heart. Julie fell on my shoulders the minute I lifted her. I saw fathomless gratitude and trust in her eyes,” Reghu says. 

Reghu rushed her to a relative's place in the neighborhood and put her in a dry, warm corner on their terrace. Julie was shivering as she had by then spent more than 12 hours in water. He fed Julie a packet of bread he saved for lunch during rescue operations. He ensured that she was fine. 

“The wound on my thigh was bleeding heavily by then. I applied turmeric powder and tied it tight with my handkerchief. I visited Julie everyday after that. I fed her daily and kept a vessel of drinking water near her. We became best friends in no time," Reghu said. 

However, Julie's owners identified her cries within a couple of days after the floodwaters settled. They approached Reghu for the custody of the dog even before they made their flood-ravaged house habitable. “I felt angry. They didn't even bother to untie their guard dog before fleeing for life. I refused to hand her over for the next couple of days but I knew that I would ultimately lose her,” Reghu said. 

On August 24, Friday, Reghu returned with Julie to the place where he found her. The floor of the house was still covered with a thick layer of mud. He left her on the verandah of that house after ensuring that the owners paid regular visits. “I handed over Julie to those who claim to be her owners. I have a wound on my thigh as a memorial of our friendship and a deeper one in my heart caused by our parting. I am sure Julie wouldn't forget me in her life because she is not a human being,” Reghu said. 

Reghu details his experience of rescuing Julie and the days spent with her in a touching Facebook note, which has caught the attention of netizens. His act of humanity was appreciated by Humane Animal Society, a non-profit organization that volunteers rescue and rehabilitation of stray animals. Reghu has also pledged his two months' salary to the chief minister's disaster relief fund to ensure his participation in the state's rebuilding.