Indian Street Dog Chooses New Zealand Couple To Be Her Parents

A street dog in India has been reunited with the family she chose after 10 months of waiting.

Jalebi’s epic journey began when her adoptive mom and dad, who are from New Zealand and live in Australia, were in India and one morning went for a walk. When they came back Jalebi was under a car out front of their home. She got chased by the other street dogs. The couple noted that Jalebi wasn’t as independent as the other dogs and not fitting in the pack meant she was lonely. Soon, Jalebi formed a bond with them and would get excited and wag her tail when she saw them.

When winter arrived, they opened the door for Jalebi so she could stay warm and she came right in. Soon, they decided to take Jalebi home to Australia with them. “We couldn’t get rid of her,” they jokingly said.

The process would prove to be a long one. Jalebi had to wait two months in Deli for a home stay. Then she went to France for 6 months because India is a high risk country for rabies, which means dogs need to spend six months in a low risk country under quarantine before they can go to Australia or New Zealand. After that the quarantine in Australia was so booked up that she went to New Zealand and ended up staying there with her new mom and grandma. But happily Jalebi is once again with her family.

Jalebi’s parents say the entire process took 10 months and around $15,000. But they wouldn’t have had it any other way. Says her dad, “She’s that little angel we didn’t know we needed.”