Gurgaon couple offers ₹50,000 reward for lost Indie dog, finds her near Taj Mahal
A Gurgaon couple’s three-month-long search for their lost Indie dog ended on a happy note this Saturday in Agra
A Gurgaon couple’s three-month-long search for their lost dog ended on a happy note this Saturday in Agra. Greyhound, a 10-year-old Indian breed dog, was found in the tangled forests near the Taj Mahal - nearly three months after she went missing. The search for Greyhound included drone surveillance, CCTV cameras, and a reward of ₹50,000 offered by her humans, Dipayan Ghosh and Kasturi Patra.
The disappearance of Greyhound
According to Times of India, Dipayan Ghosh and Kasturi Patra checked into a hotel in Agra in the beginning of November with their two dogs, Woof and Greyhound. They had planned to celebrate the Diwali long weekend in Agra.
On November 3, the couple was visiting the nearby site of Fatehpur Sikri when the hotel called them to say that Greyhound had slipped her leash and disappeared.
Greyhound’s next confirmed sighting came two days later, when a security camera captured her near Taj Mahal metro station.
The search for Greyhound
Dipayan and Kasturi left no stone unturned in their search for their lost Indie. They put up posters and banners in the area where she disappeared. The couple went knocking door to door, asking locals if they had seen the dog. Their efforts bore no fruit.
According to Times of India, Dipayan and Kasturi stayed in Agra for two weeks. Even after they returned to Gurgaon, they kept returning to Agra. Their car became their second home in their desperate search for the missing dog.
They eventually offered a reward of ₹30,000, which was later upped to ₹50,000. Reward posters were plastered on walls, autos, shops and metro stations. On social media, too, a campaign began for Greyhound’s safe return.
Dipayan and Kasturi watched hundreds of hours of grainy CCTV footage in hopes of catching a glimpse of their dogs. Drones were deployed to comb alleyways. Even police dogs were called into action - but nothing helped. The tips that came their way did not materialise.
Finding Greyhound
An animal rescue page run by Samridhi Sirohi explained that there were some sightings of Greyhound in the tangled forests where she disappeared. However, locals often thought she was a wolf and threw stones at her. Scared and lost, she retreated into the forest.
On Friday, however, a lucky break occurred. Prashant Jain, a tour guide, spotted Greyhound and called the Gurgaon couple.
They drove to Agra once again. This time, their journey was worth it.
That evening, Kasturi stood in the dark and called her dog’s name. Finally, she responded.
"She didn't recognise Dipayan's voice," Kasturi told TOI. "But when I called her name, she heard me. And then she ran - thin, weak, but running."
A heartwarming video that has gone viral online shows Greyhound’s joyous reunion with her parents. Thin and scared, she was nevertheless reunited. For their part, the couple was clearly overjoyed.
Her story has struck a chord with the internet. Dozens of people have praised Dipayan and Kasturi for going into such efforts for their dog.