Kerala village puts up sculpture, holds remembrance meeting in memory of stray dog

In a heartwarming gesture, a village on the suburbs of Palakkad district in Kerala witnessed a remembrance meeting for a stray dog that had become the village's pet. A sculpture of the female dog was also installed.

Naduvattom, about 60 kilometres from Palakkad town, was where the remembrance meeting was held on Tuesday.

The dog, 'Beepathu', was abandoned around 13 years ago by its master when it was a year old. Initially, Shaji Oorali, a local cultural activist, and his wife Smitha took care of Beepathu, a local breed. Soon, she became the pet of every household in the locality and unlike the other street dogs, no one chased her away.

Beepathu died on December 28 after being attacked by a group of street dogs.

Shaji told DH that Beepathu's death had touched most people of the locality and hence, people had gathered for the remembrance meeting organised by 'Gramini', a cultural forum run by him. Everyone had stories of their time with Beepathu to share.

A sculpture of the female dog made by artist Biji Kongorpilly was installed at the Gramini premises. Wildlife photographer N A Naseer unveiled the sculpture and spoke on the topic 'Man and Animal'. A photography exhibition was also organised as part of the remembrance function.