US-based couple, on vacation in Mumbai, fall in love with three-legged stray and decide to take him home, notwithstanding the Rs 3 lakh they had to shell out
Three-legged Tyagi has found his forever home and two loving parents, Sushant and Sheetal, who spent an additional Rs 1.67 lakh to take him home to Philadelphia, after the previous carrier they were going in could not carry the pet on the 14-hour flight. The couple spent $4,500 (Rs 3 lakh) in total to carry the pet home.
Tyagi was rescued over two years ago from a dump
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The couple was booked on Air India’s AI 191 flight to Newark from Ahmedabad via Mumbai.
Since they were taking Tyagi with them, they inquired about the procedure to carry pets from the airline’s call centre and learnt that it allowed pets to fly as cargo.
With Sheetal and Sushant Deshmukh at the airport
Pets not allowed
Completing all the formalities, the couple, who were booked on a non-refundable ticket to Newark went to their office and faced a bout of bad news. They were informed that due to their operator’s fault, they had forgotten to mention that pets weren’t allowed on a long haul flight and could fly as cargo only if it was a hopping (with multiple layovers) or via flight. It takes 14 hours to land in Newark on a direct flight from Mumbai. It was then that the family tore off their Air India tickets, that cost them nothing less than $2,000 (Rs 1.34 lakh).
Priya Nagwekar, who rescued Tyagi two years ago
Flight rebooked
They later bought tickets for a Lufthansa flight that had transit at Frankfurt. Rinky Karmakar, trustee of NGO Save Our Strays (SOS), explained, “We were somewhere sure that they wouldn’t be able to fly Tyagi with them this time due to the last minute update from Air India. It was then that I sent emails to the Air India CMD requesting him to look into the matter and at least adjust them in another flight or even another airline instead of just doing nothing. However, I never received a reply. Tyagi was getting a home after a wait of 18 months and we didn’t want this last minute trouble to shatter his bright future. To our surprise, in order to fly with Tyagi, the couple decided to spend an additional $2500.”
Priya Nagwekar, who rescued Tyagi over two years ago said, “Blessings and best wishes to the family who went against the odds and mentalities and adopted Tyagi instead of imported breeds. This happy tale sets an example about humanity and compassion. Don’t shop a dog, adopt one in need.”
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