‘Met the real Santa’: This story of an auto driver and his dog is melting hearts online

From old age, space issues, relocating to new places to even the Covid-19 pandemic — these are some of the many excuses people cite in abandoning their pets. However, this heartwarming tale of an autorickshaw driver ferrying around his pet dog comes as a breath of fresh air.

When Pune-based Manjiri Prabhu and her sister hired an autorickshaw, little did she knew of a “third passenger” travelling with them. It was only after Prabhu arrived at her destination and was about to pay her fare, when she noticed “two brown eyes” curiously looking at her.

“Today I met a Santa in real life,” wrote Prabhu in a Facebook post while sharing the story of Harvinder Singh and Ronnie.

“My sister Leena and I took an auto-rickshaw and when we reached our destination, I descended from the auto and turned to pay the driver. It was then that I found myself staring straight into two beautiful brown eyes, observing me curiously from beside the driver’s seat! It was a tiny pup, snug on a thick rug inside the curve of the auto and with a fancy leash,” she said.

“I was surprised… We hadn’t heard a whimper from him all through the drive and had not the slightest clue that there was a dog in the auto with us!” she continued.

When asked about his “companion”, Singh said the pup was brought home by his son but there was no one to take care of him. “So instead of abandoning the pup, he did the next best thing he could think of. Take the pup with him, wherever he travelled!” wrote Prabhu. “Now Ronnie was his travel buddy and his food and water were also well-stocked in the auto,” she added.

At a time when stories of abandoned pets continue to surface on social media, the tale of Singh and Ronnie definitely spread cheer among animal lovers. Since being shared online, the post has been flooded with netizens admiring Singh’s gesture towards his pet.