Walking Mumbai's dogs

Writer: Safvana Khalid
Editor: Akanksha
Photograph: Hand colored lithograph of the Nawab of Avadhs hunting dogs and falcons with their caretakers by Emily Eden 1844

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Keep an eye out if you find yourself strolling the streets of Mumbai’s Mahim area on a breezy evening. You might be rewarded with the sight of a man walking more than a dozen dogs. Mahesh’s (name changed) journey as a professional dog walker began more than a decade ago. He moved from Satara, a city in southern Maharashtra, to Mumbai in 2008. A teenager looking to support his family back home, Mahesh’s first job was washing cars outside large metropolitan buildings. There, he met one of the first dog walkers in the city- Atul (name changed). Unaware of his own capacities for this work, Mahesh would only pet and play with the dogs that Atul would walk around. Atul recognized the care with which Mahesh treated canine companions. It wasn’t long before Mahesh was offered a job he could not have conceived of before he met Atul. 

While he had an instinct for it, dog walking was not easy at first. A nasty dog bite from an untrained, young Rottweiler nearly ended Mahesh’s new career as soon as it began. His mother pleaded with him to leave such a dangerous job when he returned to his hometown to recuperate. He stuck to his decision even though others did not share his confidence in the kind of future dog-walking could secure. Today, his pack of 15 dogs cut a daily path with him from Mahim to Prabhadevi. 

It is a painful job. Increasingly erratic seasons do not mean a holiday. He has to walk dogs in Mumbai’s violent monsoons and burning summers.

“I am fully drenched within an hour of walking with the dogs, I sweat so much that I have to wrap my mobile phone in a plastic bag”, he laughs.

He only allows himself early noon and midnight to rest. There are no breaks except for an annual visit to his hometown as a treat to himself. Despite the 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week, Mahesh never quite imagined quitting. Even in the face of grief. He turns his phone towards me to show me a photo of Prince, a young labrador. Mahesh speaks of Prince like his own child and remembers him as the most obedient and loving of all his walked dogs. Prince was two when he welcomed Mahesh into his life. Mahesh pointed me toward the footpath where he first saw him. He was a patient pup. Prince was also good at keeping himself safe for the little while that Mahesh would absent himself to pick up other dogs. He grew familiar with the sound of Mahesh’s whistle. 

Glancing away from me and towards the glass window, Mahesh’s voice grows softer in sorrow as he describes the night he died, “Prince breathed his last in my hands. It was just the two of us at the hospital.”

Prince’s death still weighs heavy on his heart. Even so, he did not quit. Mahesh did not allow himself to dwell on his grief for Prince for the sake of the other dogs, whom he also thinks of as his children now. Despite the massive pain that weighs on his heart till today, he did not quit and according to him the strategy to move on was not to grieve too much.

“The people I meet in Mumbai are my school,”

It is not easy to walk 15 dogs at once. Building a sense of safety is paramount. He teaches the biggest dogs the value of respecting diversity in the pack, and the smaller ones in turn learn through example. 

“They are attached to me, and I am attached to them. When we walk, the smallest dogs follow the bigger ones and they follow me without batting their eyes or caring for the world”, he says.

He talks about the people he meets every day on the streets. Some come to pet dogs and strike up a conversation with him, others talk to him about their life. All this while Mahesh leads his pack.

Mahesh’s life revolves around dogs which leaves very little room for others. He’s been finding work-life balance difficult since recently getting married. His wife, also very fond of dogs, has been supporting him through it. On Sundays, he takes the dogs for a visit to his wife. He tells me of her desire to adopt a dog while showing me a photo of her holding a Shih Tzu. It hasn’t been easy saying no to her. Their current tenancy has meant regulations that stand in the way of bringing any dog into their home.

“We stay in a rented flat so there are plenty of reservations from permanent tenants to entertain our desires.”

Mahesh also struggles to interact with stray dogs, “I can’t be around them for longer, I love them but they can smell me, and I smell of the pet dogs which is threatening to them unfortunately.”

This threat makes Mahesh vulnerable to their attack. For the sake of his own safety, he has to let go of spending time with stray dogs.

Mahesh has built a life in the heart of a busy city. He runs to keep pace. He runs to dream. Dreams that he nursed, dreams that came true, dreams that have led him to aspire to others. Mahesh refuses to be anything but himself in the ever-changing landscape of Mumbai. He takes in the city, and exuberates kindness to young men he is training, and to strangers like me on busy evenings. He slows down only for his dogs.

Look closer when you find yourself watching a large pack of dogs on your evening walk. It takes a moment for Mahesh’s figure to emerge as a separate entity. He is one with the dogs when he is with them. He carries nothing when striding down the streets of Mumbai save for some leashes. Everything else is left behind.