Dr Ramesh Sancheti and Amit Shah stay in the same building at Swargate

At a time when people have repeatedly claimed conflicts with strays across Pune, a heartwarming twist to this saga has emerged — on Wednesday, it was only the fierce loyalty of an old street dog that kept a city-based doctor at bay from death, after he collapsed alone inside his home.For 16 long years, Dr Ramesh Sancheti has been feeding and taking care of Brownie, a female canine who was born in the Adinath Society of Swargate, where the 65-year-old general practitioner resides.According to his family, she paid him back for this affection in spades, when the uneasy dog alerted another animal lover from the area that something was amiss — it was then discovered that the doctor had been rendered critical by a partial paralytic attack, followed by a minor cardiac arrest, behind the closed doors of his ground floor house.At the time of his collapse at an unknown time, Sancheti’s wife was in Mumbai, his son in Bavdhan and daughter in the US. None of his kin were at home to rush him to avail of the medical care he immediately required.But Brownie’s incessant whines, her refusal to eat lunch and her unusual energetic behaviour of constantly nosing Sancheti’s bedroom window forewarned animal lover Amit Shah, who lives on the first floor of the same building and takes turns to care for and feed the beloved semi-stray.Shah told Mirror that he had stepped out as is routine around 12.30 pm to feed Brownie. “But she refused to eat, and seemed very uneasy,” he shared, adding that her restless behaviour and peculiar soft cries immediately made him vigilant.Unable to communicate the reason for her distress, Brownie signaljed to Shah by constantly walking towards Sancheti’s bedroom window. “She kept rearing up with difficulty and placing her front legs on the window, looking inside. Initially, I was quite confused, but when I went nearer, a gap in the window revealed to me that the doctor had collapsed on the floor. I immediately swung into action,” shared Shah, adding that he broke the window pane and opened the door lock, also apprising neighbours of the situation. “Sancheti was rushed to Poona Hospital,” he informed.Doctors who attended to Sancheti at the hospital fortunately reported that he is out of danger, and he is now undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit (ICU) there.His son, Amit Sancheti, told Mirror that he found out about the medical emergency through his friends. “I live in Bavdhan for professional reasons, and my mother was out of town on Wednesday,” he shared, adding that their house help had repeatedly rung the bell of the house earlier that morning for her daily chores, but all her calls had gone unanswered, and she had assumed no one was at home.“It was only the dog who alerted Shah and saved my father’s life,” a grateful Amit admitted.Shah — a committee member of the Maharashtra State Animal Welfare Committee and director of Prani Seva Sanshta, an NGO he started to care for visually impaired and specially abled dogs — feels Brownie’s gesture is somewhere borne of her own gratitude. “Some two years ago, her health was critical after suffering from kidney ailments. After her treatment, the Sanchetis took special care of Brownie, helping her recover from a 50 per cent kidney failure,” he narrated.He also took the chance to point out that this reversal of rescuing roles emphasises the sensitivity and love animals are capable of. “Her senses made her aware of sounds of heavy breathing and collapse despite not being inside the house. Canines also have an extremely advanced sense of smell. All credit goes to her loyalty. Without her timely warning, people would have known too late. The precious time needed for urgent treatment to save his life would have been lost,” said Shah, asserting, “There is so much hatred around for dogs, especially strays. This incident should inform people a little about their immensely generous souls.”