Child play leaves puppy dead

A child’s play led to the death of a puppy by drowning on Monday morning. A three-year-old boy in the Koovur area dropped two puppies into a 150-foot-deep borewell in his house compound, alleged his neighbour Varalakshmi M.

The Blue Cross of India was called for help shortly after the mishap occurred, but only one puppy survived.

Said Varalakshmi, “My son saw the little boy dropping in one puppy after another. Luckily he managed to inform the boy’s mother in time, as there was a third puppy in their compound.”

Incidentally, Varalakshmi recalled that it was just last week that the little boy had attempted to put the same puppies into a tub of water, but had been stopped in time.

Blue Cross officials arrived on the scene an hour later. Dawn Williams, general manager, Blue Cross, said, “The borewell pipe was six inches wide and close to 150 feet deep. It was pitch dark, so we lowered torches along with nylon rope that were knotted and slipped around the bodies of the animals.”

After two hours and several prayers chanted by close to 25 onlookers gathered, the puppies were lifted outside of the pipe. “Unfortunately, one pup had died,” said Williams. The other, although unconscious, was resuscitated by on-the-spot “mouth to mouth CPR,” he explained.

The puppy that came out alive is currently recovering at the Blue Cross shelter at Velachery, said a volunteer. “Tomorrow, it will be reunited with its mother,” revealed Williams.