THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 'Shadow' was just another street

dog

till not long ago, but thanks to Varghese Oommen who took her in and cared for her, she could well be the most privileged stray in the city. A tour operator by profession, Oommen and Shadow bonded in front of an apartment at Kowdiar, two years ago. He would feed her home cooked

and meat regularly at the same spot.

Since he was often away on tour, Oommen decided to set up an account in Shadow's name with a food delivery app so that she would get the right food on time. "The delivery executives come to this spot and call me asking me where they should deliver. I tell them, you can give it to the dog which will be waiting at the front gate,"' said Oommen, who first tried this when he was away in Delhi and his family was not at home either. Radhakrishnan, the security guard of the flat, helps with unpacking the meal and later cleaning once Shadow is done with her food. Shadow's favourite meal, incidentally, is Beef biriyani.

Oommen named the dog Shadow as she would always follow him around and even sense his car approaching at a distance. A year ago, Oommen who had rented the apartment had to move out and he opted for a house near the apartment just to make sure he was close enough to Shadow. "She has stopped scavenging and doesn't eat junk unlike other strays, ever since I started feeding her. So I have to make sure she gets that food even when I am not around and online delivery seemed the best option,'' says Oommen. Radhakrishnan has watched this special friendship grow in the last two years. "Sometimes I offer her a share of my lunch, but she wouldn't have it. When she wants water after she has her food, she makes an indicative sound and I give her water."

Oommen and his two sons Joshua and Jacob had come to her rescue during her delivery. "She delivered when it was raining heavily and a small tunnel in which she delivered was getting filled with water. She panicked and started squealing. We went there and rescued all the pups. While our apartment policy was against having dogs, we somehow managed to sneak them into our's and feed them. We made sure that they were handed over to responsible owners during an adoption drive," Oommen said. Shadow is regularly vaccinated.