Lalia the wonder dog

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Lalia the wonder dog - Darling of all!   MANGALORE June 23, 2009: Take a walk around Padil in Mangalore sometime in the morning or evening and if you encounter a dog carrying a basket full of Mackerels tucked in his snout don't be surprised, he is only taking the fish to his owner's house, but that is not all- follow this white cross breed of Labrador and hunting dog and he will give you more glimpses of his life.   Lalia is 5 years old and has migrated to Mangalore from Mumbai when he was just a pup. "When he came here he was very mischievous" says his owner-trainer Sanjay Padmaraja Rao who is a commercial photographer by profession. "In the beginning I thought he was just another dog but I and my wife loved him so much for what he was, but later in my free time I started training him for simple things in the beginning. To my surprise he responded with great dexterity and agility and carried out the commands I gave him, I never used punitive measures on him and I still do n ot have a cane in the house" says Mr. Rao. "There is something in him that makes him extra-ordinarily smart, probably it is in his genes" says Mr. Rao. His reflexes are very fast and carries out every command I give him, I have set of 32 commands that includes common things like sit, run, stand up and shake hands but the more complicated ones like jump, stand on hind legs, carry a bag needed little more stress but he learnt all the 32 commands," but what was more interesting was he could understand words like fish, newspaper, groceries, milk and vegetables! "He is a regular visitor to the market and carries home safely all the things that are kept in a basket" says Guruva Poojary a shopkeeper in Padil market. "His owner sends a list of things to be brought and the dog delivers it to me and the money." He also carries milk and fish to the owners without any damage to the goods he is carrying.   The news agent also knows Lalia well, "he comes there every morning without fail at half past six in the morning and picks up a copy of a particular newspaper by himself, I still am trying to figure out how he sniffs out a particular brand of paper every time" he says.   Lalia is supremely popular in the neighborhood, one need not search for Mr. Rao's house everybody knows the house by the name of Lalia. Sadly, Mr. Rao is now shifting his residence from Padil to Vamanjoor and "we do not know if he will do the same things in Vamanjoor  like he did in Padil" says Mr. Rao.  "We do not have childre n and Lalia filled up that gap" say the Rao couple.   .