Her old name died with her owner: Deceased Kochi woman’s Pit Bull is now ‘Rukku’, awaits new home

Kochi: She had a name once. A name known only to the woman who raised her, called her and perhaps spoke to her every day. Now, nobody knows what that name was. The woman is dead, and the four-year-old Pit Bull dog she left behind is beginning a new life with a new name - ‘Rukku’.

The dog was found alone inside the flat at Aishwarya Nagar in Kochi’s Aluva, after her owner, 46-year-old Anila Thomas, was found dead inside a car parked nearby on Thursday evening. By the time police entered the house, the dog had apparently gone without adequate food and water for days. She was tied with a chain and found in an exhausted, dehydrated condition.

The police gave her water and biscuits. She drank almost a bucket of water and ate the biscuits greedily. Food was brought from the police camp the next morning as officers searched for someone who could take responsibility for her.

That was when Daya Animal Welfare Organisation, Muvattupuzha, stepped in. Daya founding member Ambili Purackkal and volunteer Vishnu Vishwanathan reached Aluva on Friday and took custody of the dog at the request of the police.

There was one small problem: nobody knew her name. Even the police had not learnt it.

“They asked whether we could give her a name. I told them not to give her a permanent new name now. Once she reaches her new people, let them give her whatever name they like,” Aluva SHO Renjith Mathew told Onmanorama

However, for the time being, the volunteers have called her Rukku, short for Rukmini. The name came from the volunteers because the rescue happened just weeks after Sree Krishna Jayanti.

But there was something else about Rukku that made the rescue unexpectedly personal for Ambili. When Ambili approached her, the dog did not bark or show aggression. Instead, she became remarkably affectionate.

“She is very calm and quiet. She cooperated with us very well. But she showed immense affection towards me. More than towards Vishnu, who came with me, she was attached to me,” Ambili said.

Then a police officer showed Ambili an old photograph of Anila. Ambili noticed a resemblance between herself and the deceased woman. She had also rushed to Aluva wearing a T-shirt and pyjamas, and the police told her Anila had been wearing similar clothes in the photograph.

“When they showed me the photograph, even I was shocked. Maybe the dog felt that way when she saw me,” Ambili said.

Nobody can know what Rukku understood at that moment. But after days of being alone, she had found a person she immediately seemed comfortable with.

The dog also appeared to know her surroundings. Residents told Ambili that Anila used to take her out for walks. When Daya volunteers brought her downstairs, Rukku pulled them towards places she appeared accustomed to visiting.

“She was taking us towards the places she usually goes. There were no serious injuries on her body, though she showed signs of dehydration and minor skin problems,” Ambili said.

Ambili believes she may be a Pit Bull cross rather than a purebred Pit Bull, with some characteristics resembling an American Staffordshire Terrier. Despite the breed’s reputation of being aggressive, Ambili found her gentle and non-aggressive.

“Among Pit Bulls, there are aggressive ones and non-aggressive ones. It depends on how we raise them,” she said.

Rukku is now at Daya’s relief centre in Muvattupuzha, kept separately from the other dogs while she settles down. She will be allowed to rest before being examined by a veterinarian. Vaccination and sterilisation are planned, after which Daya will look for a suitable family.

And people are already asking for her. But Ambili does not want to rush.

“She might be anxious about her owner, but she is being taken care of. Only after checking for a good family will we give her up for adoption. Whenever we give a dog for adoption, we follow up. If they don’t look after her properly, we take her back,” Ambili said.

For now, the dog who arrived without a known name has one, and she has a safe place to sleep, people to feed her and a chance to begin again.