Reporter's diary: Ah, the pug life!

CHENNAI: Meeting strangers and making new friends while reporting is nothing new for a journalist. While most of it is for a job, there are friendly encounters that make you smile every time you think about it.

It was during a political interview with a senior party leader that this reporter met a 3-year-old pug. Within seconds of taking a seat in the hall, the pet dog jumped onto the sofa, sitting next to me like an old friend much to the surprise of the leader, who asked if I had a pet dog at home.

As a person who loves animals but doesn’t have a pet at home, I went on to pat the dog. Then came the surprise. Just as we see in YouTube and TikTok videos of pet animals asking their owners to continue patting or stroking them, the pug pulled at my hand to keep patting it.

When the interview started, the leader asked a family member to take away the dog. But the pug made a second appearance in between the interview, and this time, decided to lie on my lap quietly and once again asked me to pat.

As the interview came to an end, I took a selfie with my new ‘celebrity’ friend, who did not fail to strike a good pose and bid adieu.