Mumbai: A viral social media post, a group of dedicated animal lovers and a six hour long dramatic search operation in the wee hours led to the miraculous discovery of Laila, Mumbai’s beloved mall dog that was abducted more than three months ago.
On July 25, The Free Press Journal had reported about the missing Indie dog Laila, who was widely popular on social media and admired by the visitors of the mall. The community dog was allegedly abducted from the mall premises on May 21. The BKC police registered a first information report against Chetan Salvi, Suraj Chauhan and Parvez, who allegedly lodged the dog in a car and took it away. The complainant, Shiraj Ahmad, an animal activist and founder of Humanity World Foundation, was informed by a fellow animal lover that the dog was last seen in Sanpada.
Since the day Ahmad received information, he and his friends had been looking for Laila on the streets of Sanpada every night for the last three months. The group did it all from putting up missing posters, distributing pamphlets, announcing Rs25,000 reward as well as wrapping Ahmad’s car with posters informing people about the missing dog.
During a post midnight hunt on Thursday, Ahmad received a forwarded social media post by a good samaritan named Shilpa Lewis who claimed that a dog had lost her way and was found in Borivali’s IC Colony area. The pictures attached with the post made it clear that it was indeed Laila, who was seen sitting on a scooter with an unknown man.
The post gave a new ray of hope to Ahmad and his friends, who immediately left for Borivali and started looking for Laila in the IC Colony spread across 25 hectares. However, it was difficult to find her in the vast residential neighbourhood at 3am therefore the group searched for the scooter through its distinct features. Once the scooter was located, they contacted its owner asking Laila’s whereabouts who also joined the search operation along with other fellow animal lovers from the locality.
Before dawn could set, the group of 10 divided into different teams with some on foot, some on scooters and some on rickshaw, all looking for Laila in every nook and corner of the locality. Finally at around 9.30am, one of the teams successfully located her hiding under a car parked in one of the societies. On inquiry, it was learnt that the society had allowed Laila to live on its premises but one day she ran from the society due to loud noise during Ganpati Visarjan and was clicked by Lewis, who posted about her on social media.
Talking to The Free Press Journal, Ahmad said, “For the last three months, my schedule included my job and NGO during the day and to look for Laila during the night. We looked for her till as far as Panvel just in the hope that on one of the streets we would find her waiting for us. I believe that when our intention is pure, God blesses us with his blessings. It is the result of our honesty that we were able to find her.”
Even after being forcefully relocated from her territory, Laila survived all odds but suffered a few injuries and maggot infestation. Following treatment, Laila was taken back, not to the mall but to Ahmad’s residence, her new home. The animal lover alleged that the mall authorities offered to welcome Laila back and look after her but he refused them expressing lack of trust in them.
“Laila has suffered for the last three months due to the mall administration. All this while, they made no efforts to find her and now they are claiming that they will take good care of her.. They might take her back for now but might throw her out after a month. The mall does not deserve Laila. I will ensure that she lives safely with me at a home where she is valued,” Ahmad added.
Alleging that the mall administration conspired for Laila's illegal relocation, Ahmad said that he will continue pursuing the matter legally and ensure that justice is served to her.
