Rahul Gandhi on private visit to Goa, comes home with a puppy
Gandhi arrived in Goa on Wednesday and returned Thursday with one of the two puppies since only one dog was allowed per passenger on the flight
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was in Goa on a private visit on Wednesday, headed back with a puppy – an exquisite breed of a Jack Russell Terrier – a short but intelligent breed of dogs known for their sense of smell.
Gandhi arrived in Goa on Wednesday and returned Thursday with one of the two puppies since only one dog was allowed per passenger on the flight.
Speaking to HT, Goa-based dog breeders advocate Sharvani Pitre and her husband Stanley Bragança said they were elated when they first received the call from Gandhi’s office inquiring about the availability of the Jack Russel Terriers which they promptly obliged.
On Thursday, the Congress leader paid a visit to the Bragança family in Mapusa in north Goa.
“He (Gandhi) came across as a humble and down-to-earth person. He spoke to us like a friend,” Pitre said.
“These are a special breed of hardy dogs that have a very good sense of sight and smell and also are very active dogs with a long life,” Pitre told HT.
“This is the same breed of dog that was recently presented with a medal by Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” she said.
Zelenskyy had in a formal ceremony rewarded Patron, a Jack Russel Terrier, for its ability to sniff out mines laid out by retreating Russian armies from territory Ukraine regained from Russia.
The breeders have earlier supplied breeds of dogs to eminent personalities like Azim Premji and celebrities like Kareena Kapoor.
In Goa, the Congress leader also met state Congress leaders, including leader of Opposition Yuri Alemão and Goa Congress president Amit Patkar among others.
