Nedumkandam: "Koovi", the dog which was taken by police from the site of Pettimudi landslide tragedy near Rajamala in Idukki district, has now been returned to the kin of its late masters. Under police care Koovi completed training in hill walk and sniffing.
Koovi had attracted the attention of people in the wake of the Pettimudi landslide last year after she was seen moving around at the tragedy site looking for her friend Dhanukshka. The dog wandered through the debris, sniffing around, and running past the rescue workers. Later she helped the police in tracing the body of Dhanukshka near the site.
The police said the department has decided to return Koovi to Dhanushka's relatives following their request.
The tragedy
The landslide that took the lives of 62 people, including 20 children, at night on August 6, 2020 during heavy rains.
The entire area was witness to the heart-rending scenes of Koovi running around in the landslide affected area in search of Dhanushka and later helped the police to locate her body.
The pet dog caught the smell of the two-year-old child at a gravel bank, about 4 km away away from the tragedy site. The dog used to make strange noises standing on the banks of a stream in which her dear ones had drowned during the tragedy. The rescue task force became suspicious of Koovi's behaviour. They crossed the stream and found Dhanushka's body entangled in the branches of a tree.
The dog had wandered in Pettimudi area for days together in the hope that Dhanushka would return.
Later Ajith Madhavan, civil police officer of district dog squad, fed Koovi and brought her back to normal state. When the officer expressed his willingess to take the dog to his home, state police chief had initiated action to provide shelter to the dog under the police department.