Varanasi: Street dog jaya to fly with Dutch owner; passport, visa ready

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh): Jaya, a female street dog from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, is set to fly out of the country for uncharted shores with a proper passport and visa, along with her new owner from the Netherlands.

A Heartwarming Connection

Meral Bontenbel, a native of Amsterdam who has assumed the custodianship of Jaya, said she had always wanted to bring home a pet and fell helplessly in love with the street dog from Varanasi during a visit to the temple town.

A Lifesaving Intervention

"I traveled to Varanasi as I wanted to explore the city. As I was walking around idly one day (along with her co-travelers), Jaya walked up to us. She was very sweet and I fell for her. I cuddled her, and she tagged along with us thereafter. She started following us around. Then, one day, she was attacked by another dog on the street," Bontenbel recalled.

She added that a security guard stepped forward to rescue Jaya from the clutches of the other mongrel. "A guard came forward and saved her. I hadn't initially planned to adopt her. I simply wanted to get her off the streets," Bontenbel told ANI.

The Decision to Adopt

She added that she had to extend her stay in India for six months to arrange a passport and visa for her beloved Jaya.

"I'm really happy to finally be able to take her along with me. It was a long-drawn process. I had to wait six months to get her to this point. I have always wanted to have a dog, and I fell in love with her the first time she walked up to me," she added.

(With ANI inputs)