Still fondly remembered by the resort staff, Bruno was the adorable 9 ½ year old dog once owned by the Chairman of Orange County Resorts.

This Alsatian was bought by the Chairman to be kept in his bungalow. However, the dog kept frequenting the resort, and the staff there became fond of him. The chefs started providing him special food, such as ‘Mutton Kheema’. Bruno remained at the resort, and never returned to the bungalow after that.

Bruno

Surprisingly, the Chairman didn’t seem to mind this, and allowed Bruno to stay within the resort premises. And the dog was well taken care of there. The guests at the resort were also fond of him as he was friendly, and would escort them to places. This was particularly useful when guests didn’t know their way around the resort.As the dog took care of everyone, guests talked about it extensively.

The resort took care of Bruno just like he was any other employee. It was I who took the most care of him.
The dog escorted guests on Nature walks. It was interesting, as he would lead the walks, and warn us of the presence of elephants – a potential threat. He did this by first staying quiet, and then coming close to me. He would subsequently make strange sounds, and scratch the sand beneath him. He could automatically sense the smell of elephants.

Sadly, Bruno died when he was was 9 ½ years old. Bruno’s grave can be seen on the nature walk trail today. This location was selected as children who visited Orange County, Coorg when Bruno was a pup, still remember him fondly and ask about him when they visit the resort. It was for their sake and to honour the role that Bruno performed that he was buried in the plantation.

Bruno's Grave in the Plantations at Orange County, Coorg

Bruno’s burial was a solemn procession where around 80 -90 staff from the resort participated, with candles in their hands. Bruno’s death was also lamented by the suppliers of various products for the resort.

Fond memories of Bruno linger on in my mind and I still remember him vividly.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 3:50 PM and is filed under Mammal, Plantation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.