Chennai’s golden dog ‘safe and glowing still’

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The golden dog of Besant Nagar is being treated for an injury it had sustained last week. The image shows sculpture doctors from Silaii attending to the dog at their work station in Tambaram. The image was taken on September 12, 2026. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A street dog regularly seen on Besant Avenue Road in Besant Nagar went missing last week, sparking a discussion that found resonance beyond the neighbourhood. Those regularly driving through Besant Avenue Road had also noticed the canine’s absence. One of them was Rudra, a girl studying in a school nearby. And notably, this girl is a member of what is called Thiruvanmiyur Changemakers Club, a children’s collective that seeks to address civic issues in the neighbourhood their parents and older relatives have given up as lost causes.

“This incident was brought to light by Rudra, a young Thiruvanmiyur Changemaker who studies at Adyar Theosophical Academy, and she sees this dog on her daily commute. She is just nine years old,” points out Gayatri Nair, also a resident of Thiruvanmiyur.

A file photo of the dog with its parent. Gold-spangled, this dog is clearly a chip off the old block. This image is a few years old. | Photo Credit: Gayatri Nair

Now, as luck would have it, Gayatri happens to be a photographer and a key member of Chennai Photo Biennale and believes in taking problems head-on, particularly those of the civic category. On being informed about the missing dog, Gayatri clicked images of the woman robbed of her pet and spread the word. about the catastrophe that had befallen her. For contrast, Gayatri ferreted out an old image of the woman in happier times, walking the dog leash in hand. When the two photos were juxtaposed and shared, there was an outpouring of concern. The missing dog had become Chennai’s collective loss.

Anyone who has not seen this dog might dismiss all of this as brouhaha. But this was no ordinary four-legged creature: it glowed golden and was always in the company of this lady, equally gold-spangled.

Movement is therapy. The lady, who is a brand ambassador for Greater Chennai Corporation’s fitness initiative, Health Walk in Besant Nagar, seems to be dealing with the ‘loss’ of the dog by continuing with her routine.. To her relief and the entire city’s, this loss is temporary as the dog has only been taken away for treatment of a minor injury. This image was taken on September 11, 2026. | Photo Credit: Gayatri Nair

The lady is a permanent resident of what is called “selfie point” on Besant Avenue Road, frequented by those who believe in walking their illnesses away, a belief partially strengthened by a Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) initiative.

GCC had designed a Health Walk Route in Besant Nagar with much of the walking taking place on Besant Avenue Road under the shade cast by the trees on the Theosophical Society peeping out curiously. And a halting point where people, the walking crowd, could rest and click a few selfies was created; hence the name “selfie point”.