Gurgaon: Missing dog Thumki found after 33-day long online campaign

Pet dog Thumki has been reunited with its owners in Gurgaon’s DLF City Phase 3 area after a 33-day long online campaign.

Pet dog Thumki has been reunited with its owners in Gurgaon’s DLF City Phase 3 area, 33 days after she went missing.

Thumki was found outside the fence surrounding Central Park, Golf Course road on May 28. (HT Photo)

The female Indian breed dog, missing since April 25, was found after a rigorous campaign by the owners and animal lovers on social media.

The off white-coloured pet is a two-year old stray dog who was adopted by Myra Khanna, a sociology under-graduate at Delhi University’s Hindu College, in September 2014.

“Thumki is back from her one month-long adventure. Thank you so much everyone who looked out for her, helped us out every single day to locate her. She’s healthy and extremely happy to be home,” Myra shared the news on her Facebook account.

The Khanna family said that Thumki was found outside the fence surrounding Central Park, Golf Course road on May 28. Pranav, a dog lover, who lives in Silver Oaks on Gurgaon-Faridabad road, had come to drop his parents at Central Park and noticed her through the fence, they said. The owners had announced an award of Rs 5000 which was later increased to Rs 10,000 for finding her. But Pranav, who found her, refused to take the money and instead asked the family to donate it to Umeed, an animal shelter in Gurgaon.

Soon after finding her, the elated family shared the news with her pictures on social media.

“Pranav has been following the Facebook posts and posters the family had been putting up so recognised her, took a photo and sent to us on Whatsapp. Mahi Khanna and I rushed there and sure enough it was Thumki,” wrote Dinesh Khanna, one of the family members.

“She probably finally settled here as there are very few houses so less stray dogs to fight or chase her,” he added.

Nicknamed Thumki, after the hip movement, Thumki fled from the owner’s hand on April 25 while she was being taken to a veterinary doctor in Qutub Plaza market in DLF City phase 1. Soon after she went missing, Pakhi Sen, a friend of the owner Myra, put up a message on Facebook to spread the word about the lost ‘girl’.

Appeals of help on Twitter and Facebook by people, both known and unknown to Myra, kept pouring in since then. On April 27 a post, comprising a poster with pictures of the dog and announcing the Rs 5000 reward, shared by Myra crossed more than 1000 shares.

“She’s back thanks to the phenomenal network FB allows and good old posters on trees and in newspapers, which put us in touch with so many wonderful people. Along with the amazing positive thinking and constant searching by Rachana Yadav and Myra Khanna, who put up posters around DLF CIty Phase 1,” Khanna said.