Pet owner forgives duo for ‘puppy love’

KOCHI: Muhammed Basith, owner of the pet shop from where two engineering students from Karnataka took away a 45-day-old Shih Tzu puppy five days ago, was a relieved man on Thursday as he finally got the puppy released. He said he had ‘forgiven’ the students and would have dropped the charges if it was up to him.

Panangad police had arrested the students -- Nikhil (23) and Sreya (23) of Shimoga, Karnataka -- from Udupi on Wednesday. They had stolen the puppy worth Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 from the shop, Pets Hive, at Nettoor here on Saturday. They were released on bail on Thursday.

Basith said the students seemed to have stolen the puppy for a thrill. When I went to the police station on Thursday morning, they were there. They were in tears; they apologized to me. They admitted that they were wrong. Their families were also upset. They are not well-off and could speak only Kannada.

They also apologized to us; Ifelt that they should be let off after proper counselling. However, it is not entirely in my hands,” Basith said. Basith said since an FIR had been registered and they got bail from the court, they would have to go through the judicial process to quash the case.

Police had found the puppy in Karkala, Udupi, over 400km away from Kochi. “The puppy is healthy as of now. However, it has been travelling a lot over the past few days and its feeding was also not proper. We gave the puppy a bath and consulted with a veterinarian.

Though it is fit now, complications can arise later; we are taking extra care,” Basith said. He said he had also been caught up in legal tangles. “As of now, we don’t have the option to sell the puppy.

If need be, I will have to produce the puppy before authorities. I’m not sure about the other legalities but I think there are more processes involved,” he said. The students, who were on a leisure trip, had visited the shop on a two-wheeler and taken away the puppy in a helmet. Police later found they made a purchase at another pet shop using GPay and this helped in tracing them.


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