Aapnu Pete chills out in Ottawa snow

AHMEDABAD: Born in Shilaj village on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Pete had grown up with the drone of construction machines and was just about learning to roll in the sand as a scrawny stray pup when he was sent to Canada.
With his new-found home in Ottawa in collar-deep snow, his first winter there has been a string of discoveries beginning with where to lift a leg and relieve.
Six-month-old Pete, who was adopted by a Canadian couple, is learning fast. “On Wednesday morning it had snowed and when we took Pete out for a walk, he had a flabbergasted look on his face. He could not find his way around. We had to dig pits in the fresh snow to help him smell the ground and defecate,” Sarah O’Neill, who adopted Pete, told TOI over the phone from Ottawa.
“It took him 24 hours and a few walks to get used to the snow and over this weekend when we took both our dogs for an outing, they freaked out. Pete ran like crazy, jumped around, dug his nose in the snow and even rolled around,” said O’Neill, who works as a graphic designer and photographer for the federal government in Ottawa.
Born as Hugo, the dog was rescued and nursed by Lisa Warden, a Canadian living in Shilaj. “I am so happy with the way Pete is growing up. I still remember the first time I saw him, scared and starved,” said Warden.
Warden had found a home for Pete over the internet and sent him to O’Neill in September. Pete was received at the Ottawa airport not just by his new owners but also the media.
Pete is not genetically made up to live in such low temperatures, so O’Neill showed him to a veterinarian. “Since he does not have enough fat right now to keep him warm, he wears a jacket. Besides, we powder his paws to protect against the salt sprayed on the snow to dissolve it faster. This salt is harmful for dogs.”