Hi. My name is Suraj…or that it was the nice folks at Dharamsala Animal Rescue named me after they rescued me off the streets—hungry, skinny, and my fur had all fallen out—I was so itchy!

Suraj means “sun” in Hindi. I guess they named me that because of my golden fur and eyes.I am so grateful to DAR…they just took me in, fed me, and gave me medicine until I felt strong and happy for the first time in my life.

No one at DAR knew my history. They just loved me anyway. However, I decided to write my memoir so I could let them know just how their much help meant to me. Here is an excerpt from my upcoming book, “The Story of Suraj.”

I remember the day I was born as though it was yesterday. It was a cold night in January. My mum had just given birth to my seven brothers and sisters, and I was the last one to arrive. The others had already been cleaned and fed. At first, life wasn’t too bad. I always managed to get some food, even though I was always pushed out of the way by my bigger siblings.

As we got older, I realized they all looked very different than me; they had cute round faces, soft brown fur, and big eyes. I had a mass of messy rough fur, a long pointy nose, and small eyes. In fact, they gave me the nickname “Crazy Eyes”. Although my brothers and sisters always teased me, and pulled my hair and tail, I loved playing with them. Our favourite games were chase-the-chicken, hide-and-seek, and tug-of-war with the local shopkeeper’s washing; that game always got us into trouble.

Then one day, when I was about five-weeks old, some people who were driving through the village where I lived took me away from my family. I remember big rough hands grabbing me while I was curled up asleep with my brothers and sisters. I was put in a bag and taken away in a car. After a horrible journey that made me feel very sick, I was chained up in the yard of a house. There were no toys, no food, and no blanket—just a cold concrete floor. I managed to hide under a cardboard box that had been thrown out, and this provided me with a small amount of protection from the cold….

What do you think so far? I know, it is scary—and things got worse before they got better. My book should be finished in a few months! I am so excited, so stay tuned to find out how you can get one.

Now that I am healthy, strong, happy, and dare I say “handsome,” DAR offered me a job as Mascot, Reviewer, and Advice Columnist. I of course jumped at the chance to do anything to help. My job is to make people aware of the plight of the street dogs and animals of Dharamsala….

I have my own Instagram and Twitter accounts, as well as a Facebook Group called Eat Play Bark.  I am doing a LOT of modeling for this new job. I am working on campaigns for Funk Dog bow ties, Indigo Island men’s shirts, as well as several local restaurants in Dharmsala: Norbulingka, Bodhi Greens, and Illiterati Books and Coffee. An amazing photographer, Elena KryLove made me look so good for the photo shoots.  I even got to meet Bollywood actor, Asif Basra!

Please follow me so you can learn about contests, my friends who need loving homes, and partnership opportunities. I also have my “Dear Dr. Suraj” column where you can ask questions on dog health, training, basically anything “dog” and I will work with our Vet team at DAR to get you the answer you need!

As you can see, I am very busy…and this is just the first two weeks! I know everyone works hard at DAR…but it’s worth it. I can vouch for that first hand.

Okay, bye for now. Oh, here is what I look like today. Love, Suraj