Meet PETA’s 2015 ‘Cutest Indian Dog Alive’ Winners

After sifting through hundreds of photographs of lovable rescued Indian dogs, PETA’s panel of judges painstakingly narrowed the list down to 10 finalists. Then we asked you to cast your vote in PETA’s 2015 Cutest Indian Dog Alive contest to help us decide who we should choose as the winners. The winners were chosen by PETA based on a number of factors, including vote count.

While we recognise that all the Indian dogs in our competition were worthy of the title (the judges are still recovering from “cute overload”), the votes are in, and we’ve chosen Bambi from Bangalore as the winner!

Aishwarya Radhakrishna rescued Bambi when the city was flooded by monsoon rains. Bambi was shivering and had been abandoned on the streets by a neighbour. Her new family now calls her a “treasure”. Bambi will receive a certificate and be able to flaunt her new “100% Desi Dog” doggie T-shirt, and her guardian will receive an “I ? Desi Dogs” T-shirt and a copy of Ingrid Newkirk’s book Let’s Have a Dog Party!

2015 ‘Cutest Indian Dog Alive’ Winner

And because we knew that we wouldn’t be able to look at hundreds of cute doggie photos without plenty of “OMG, how cute!” shrieks, we decided to crown two other canine companions as runners-up.

2015 ‘Cutest Indian Dog Alive’ First Runner-Up

Krithika Lakshminarayanan could not leave little Kaya alone after she found her roaming around a construction site. Kaya was taken to the veterinarian and vaccinated and now lives with Krithika and her family in Tamil Nadu.

2015 ‘Cutest Indian Dog Alive’ Second Runner-Up

Sheroo started following Ranjeeta Nath Ghai and her husband on their daily evening walks. When Sheroo was almost hit by a car, Ranjeeta decided to adopt him. They live in Uttar Pradesh.

Kaya will receive a certificate and a “100% Desi Dog” doggie T-shirt, and her guardian will get an “I ? Desi Dogs” T-shirt. Sheroo will receive a certificate and a “100% Desi Dog” doggie T-shirt.

Whether from a pet shop, a puppy mill or an individual breeder, buying a dog means that another dog in an animal shelter will lose the chance to find a loving home. Of course, the same applies to cats, too.

If you have the time, the resources and plenty of affection to give, you can make a difference by adopting a loving, sterilized Indian dog from your local animal shelter. And who knows – maybe next year, your dog will take the top prize in our Cutest Indian Dog Alive contest!