As a very young child, Hassvitha Vicnesvaran would feel wistful as she watched her friends playing with their dogs. She didn’t have one of her own, and she really wanted one.
Then, when she was five years old, her wish came true: her parents gifted her a beautiful Pomeranian puppy.
“I remember feeling so excited and happy,” Hassvitha, now 11, tells FMT. She named her new pet Mu.
Of his unusual name, she explains: “When my family first brought him to the veterinarian, the nurse prepared an appointment card and, for some reason, wrote ‘Mu’ at the top of the card.”
Thinking it was his name, she started calling him that, and the moniker has stuck.
Hassvitha says the little pooch was very active as a puppy. “But he was also scared of people and would run away whenever someone unfamiliar went near to him,” she recalls, even though he eventually got over this fear.
Today, Mu is six years old with a vibrant personality. For instance, he automatically jumps into the car whenever his humans start the engine.
“He just doesn’t want to be left alone at home,” Hassvitha says with a chuckle.
He also loves eating peanut butter. “I was having a peanut butter sandwich and a bit of it dropped to the floor. Mu came running and immediately snatched it up!”
His love affair with the gooey condiment started that day. “However, I only give it as a treat every once in a while,” she adds.
Curiously, Mu loves eating chicken with bones – something that concerns his human.
“I tried feeding him boneless meat but he just doesn’t like it,” Hassvitha says, although she absolutely does not encourage this diet as it can be dangerous for the dog’s digestive system.
The peppy Pomeranian also doesn’t enjoy taking baths. “Whenever we bring him to the bathroom, he starts running all over the place!”
Mu has two other “siblings” – a hamster named Roxy and a bird called Chocolate.
“When I first introduced Mu to Roxy, he wasn’t very happy. Mu would try to disturb the hamster, so I had to place the hamster cage on a high table.
“I had the same experience with the bird,” she shares with a laugh. Mu eventually gave up after realising he wasn’t going to succeed.
When it comes to getting attention, Mu knows exactly what to do. “When he wants to be patted, he starts jumping around my legs,” Hassvitha shares.
“If I am in the living room and he is outside, he starts barking for me to let him in.”
Although petite, Mu is especially protective over his young human. “I was at a park one day and a few dogs started chasing me. Mu came to the rescue.
“Although the dogs were bigger than him, he bravely started barking at them until they went away,” she recalls fondly.
To top it all off, Mu has a loving and sensitive side. “Whenever I am sad or lonely, Mu also senses it and comes over to cuddle with me.”
Her mother, Puvaneswari Nadaraja, believes that having a pet is beneficial for children.
“It a good way to teach them about responsibilities,” she says. “For example, Hassvitha ensures her pets have food and take regular baths.
“It’s also nice that she has pets to play with whenever she needs a break from studying.”
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.