Poonam Bindra
‘A complete travel freak’ is how the family defines their darling pet Oscar – a handsome Labrador who looks quite royal in his golden hues. “I was quite apprehensive when he started wailing on his maiden car trip in Pune for we are travel buffs, but now he loves it more than us,” echo Balmeet and Major Ravi Kalha, whose pet dog Oscar is a delight for the entire family.
Recently, they took him via road from Ludhiana to Pune and Mumbai to meet their daughters Priyanka, a graphic designer, and Jasmine, who works with an NGO. Among Oscar’s other travel exploits are Manali, Kashmir and Ranikhet. Although he pines for everybody, he does keep Priyanka on his list of favourites and then Jasmine. Rather Major Kalha shares, “When the girls are here, he has no time for anybody else”. Very quick to recognise a dog-lover, Oscar can be a trifle rude with somebody who shows even a little animosity towards him.
As Balmeet says “Usually I call him my bhondu, but when he shows such discerning power I realise he is pretty intelligent.” Very fond of home-food, Oscar’s favourite is curd and aloo ka parantha. And when he travelling, pedigree food keeps him happy! He gets lot of compliments from fellow travellers on his sojourns. Oscar is quite terrified of taking a bath and has to be cajoled.