Kanjirappally: A dog and a goat living in a house at Pattimattom, near Kanjirappally, became friends and set out on a trip during which they lost their way. They ended up five km from their owner’s house, and their journey found a place in newspapers, which helped the owner bring them back. This is the story of their special friendship.

The story so far
On Wednesday morning, office-bearers of the residents’ association noticed a goat and a dog wandering aimlessly near the housing board houses in Kanjirappally town. They took the two animals to safety, but the dog fiercely protected the goat, preventing everyone from even touching it.

Although the residents became curious, they could not trace the owner of the dog and goat. The association later arranged for the news to be published in newspapers along with a photo. Nouseed Saleem, a resident of Thaipparambil, Pattimattom, and owner of the two friends, noticed the newspaper report and took back ‘Danny’, the dog, and ‘Kada’, the goat.

Soulmates
Danny, a Dalmatian, arrived at Nouseed’s house four years ago and soon became the darling of the family. Kada, a male goat of the Beetal breed, came four months ago. Danny and Kada became friends at first sight, and Danny quickly took up the full responsibility of protecting Kada. It became Danny’s daily duty to take Kada to graze in the morning and bring him safely back home in the evening. Everyone in the village found the routine trips of the special friends quite amusing.

The climax
Danny and Kada left their cages in Nouseed’s house on Tuesday night. Their stroll took them about five km away from home, to Kanjirappally town. Meanwhile, Nouseed and his relatives searched everywhere they thought the two pets could have gone. The family even sacrificed their sleep to continue the search through the night.

By the next day, Nouseed and his kin had almost lost hope, but the reports in Thursday’s newspapers thrilled them. As soon as he saw the news, Nouseed rushed to the housing board colony, retrieved his pets and expressed deep gratitude to the residents’ association.

The anticlimax
The Tuesday night adventure was not the first such trip by Danny and Kada. On an earlier occasion, Nouseed had found them near Pattimattom Junction. As the two friends are likely to embark on yet another journey, residents of nearby areas have been advised to keep watch for a dog and a goat with similar bells tied around their necks.