It’s International Dog Day, and while the internet fills with adorable pictures of pets dressed up in bow ties and tutus, dog owners everywhere are celebrating in their own quirky ways.
Take Pearl Mehta, proud parent of Vodka, a round little pug who thinks he owns the sofa. “Vodka doesn’t know it’s International Dog Day,” Pearl laughs. “But he definitely knows it’s ‘treat day.”, everyday!” He’s already stolen my food and heart and is currently snoring like a tiny bulldozer.”
Meanwhile, Meher Bodhanwalla, who has a Labrador named Ronaldo, says the day feels more like a marathon than a celebration. “Ronaldo believes International Dog Day means dragging me to the park two times before lunch. He’s 35 kilos of muscle and enthusiasm. I don’t need a gym membership- I have Ronaldo.”
All across the world today, dogs are being pampered, walked, and photographed for Instagram, celebrated as companions who bring joy, loyalty, and a bit of chaos into our lives. In India too, families are showering their pets with love. But step outside the living rooms and parks, and another story is playing out.
In Delhi, the debate around stray dogs continues to flare, with recent orders and counter-orders on whether community dogs should be picked up and kept in shelters. Courts have had to step in, reminding authorities that the dogs must be released after sterilization and vaccination. The irony is striking: on the one hand, we celebrate freedom as the essence of what makes dogs so special- tails wagging on open streets, their unfiltered joy, their stubborn independence. On the other, entire populations of street dogs find themselves caught between policies and politics, their very right to exist freely questioned.
So while we laugh at pugs stealing food and Labradors dragging humans into morning workouts, International Dog Day also leaves us with a quiet reminder: freedom isn’t something to be granted to only a few pampered pets- it’s meant for every wagging tail.
