International Dog Day| My dog, Aura and I are happiest with each other: Rashmika Mandanna

On International Dog Day, Rashmika Mandanna talks about the bond she shares with her pet, Aura, her source of happiness, who’s like ‘a sibling’

They say, ‘a dog is a man’s best friend’, but for Rashmika Mandanna, her dog is like a sibling. For the actor, every day belongs to her pet and “the only difference is that on International Dog Day, we cut a cake for my doggo, Aura”.

Rashmika Mandanna with her dog, Aura

Spending time with her two-and-a-half-year-old Cocker Spaniel is what Mandanna looks forward to. “I feel like both of us are the happiest with each other. She calms me down, her love is unmatchable. She has tears every time she sees me crying. She’s the most hyper when I come home. If I have a tummy ache, she sleeps on my tummy to comfort me. When she came into my life, it felt complete. She knows that I travel a lot and it’d bother her initially, but now she’s used to it,” says the 27-year-old.

The unconditional love pets have for humans, especially dogs, is an emotion. Mandanna relates to the saying ‘they are a part of your world but you are their whole world’. She says, “A dogs is like a person who loves you. They discipline you and make you happy. They are your partners in everything. Often, Aura and I are glued to each other and it’s funny to see us together. Dogs are known for chasing their tails. In our case, my doggo is my tail. When we are together, nothing else matters.”

Recalling her first encounter with a pet as a child when her parents got a dog home, Mandanna says, “I always had a doggo at home. Mum used to say that every time I’d have milk, I’d share my feeding bottle with my dog. When he (one of her pets when she was a kid) died, I didn’t get out of my room for a month. Even as a kid, I would treat my doggos as siblings.”