DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

It was more than just puppy love for Chandigarh's British Deputy High Commissioner Caroline Rowett. When she landed here for her posting in February 2021, little did she know that two street dogs of Chandigarh would soon become her faithful lifelong companions.

As her term draws to a close and she heads back to her hometown of London after a four-and-a-half-year stint, she's making sure her four-legged friends are not left barking up the wrong tree. They are flying home with her -- to join her husband and daughter.

Emotional in her farewell speech, she said it was tough to bid adieu to India, but she was happy to be reunited with her family -- now with two dogs in tow.

The street dogs are named 'Shimla' and 'Sula', a female and a male, respectively.

The former's name is inspired by the tourist resort Shimla, which is fondly called by the British colonial rulers as the 'Queen of Hills', and the latter is named after her love for the popular Indian wine.

In her speech, Caroline highlighted the UK's investments in the region, mentioning an agro-industry investment in Kullu and the establishment of an Indian operation by a Scottish distillery, underscoring the strengthening economic relationship between the UK and Himachal Pradesh.

Regarding her adopted dogs, Caroline said she came across one in the parking area of the Hyatt Regency in 2021, while the other one was in Sector 10's Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association (CLTA) complex. Now both are aged between four and five years.

Before their travel to offshore, Caroline got both pets microchipped and rabies vaccinated. "Both implanting the microchip and being vaccinated against rabies took nearly eight months. Also, special cages were procured for their safe journey," Rajinder Nagarkoti, Political, Press and Projects Adviser for the UK government, told IANS.

Vipan Rana, the UK government's Protocol Officer, told IANS that he encountered Sula on the street crying with a critical skin disease. He narrated the pup's condition to his boss, and she immediately decided to adopt it.

Caroline has represented Britain in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh.

(editor@dailyworld.in)