A pet dog turned aggressive inside the lift of Sheth Irene, a residential building in Mumbai's Malad West, and lunged at three young girls travelling with it, with the entire episode captured on the building's CCTV camera. The clip has since gone viral on social media and sparked wide discussion. Fortunately, no one suffered a serious injury, largely because the dog had a muzzle strapped to its mouth at the time, even though the lift turned into a scene of panic for a few tense moments.
Dog's mood shifts the instant the door shuts
According to the viral footage, three girls were already inside the lift when a woman stepped in along with her pet dog. Everything seemed normal at first, but the moment the lift door closed, the dog's behaviour changed abruptly and it began lunging toward the girls. The sudden aggression inside the confined space sent all three girls into panic, and chaos broke out within the lift. The woman was seen struggling continuously to restrain her dog, but despite her efforts and repeated tugging, the animal refused to calm down.
The muzzle that saved all three girls
The footage clearly shows the dog wearing a muzzle over its mouth, and that single detail turned out to be the biggest reason the three girls escaped unharmed that day. Because of the muzzle, the dog could not bite anyone, or the situation could have turned far more serious. As soon as the dog turned aggressive, two of the girls spotted their chance and slipped out of the lift immediately, but the third girl remained trapped inside. The dog kept trying to go after that one girl repeatedly, while she stood frozen in fear, huddled in a corner of the lift. What worked in her favour was that the woman managed, time and again, to yank the leash hard enough to pull the dog away from her.
Dog still tries to chase the third girl on the way out
Moments later, the lift reached the floor, and as the door opened, the third girl too seized the opportunity and dashed out. The dog lunged toward her as well, intent on chasing her down, which dragged its owner forward a few steps in the process. Even so, she did not let go of the leash and used all her strength to haul the dog back. After some effort, the woman finally managed to pull the dog back inside the lift and began trying to calm it down. None of the three girls suffered any serious physical injury in the incident, but it once again highlighted how much caution is needed while taking pets into public spaces such as lifts.
A pack of strays had targeted a child in Gondia days earlier
Just days before this incident involving a pet dog, a young girl in Gondia, Maharashtra had faced a terrifying encounter with dogs on 15 July. In that case, a pack of stray dogs suddenly attacked a 5-year-old girl who was waiting for her school van. The girl fell to the road during the attack, and the entire pack of dogs pounced on her as she lay there. A woman from the neighbourhood, hearing the child's screams and cries, rushed to the spot and chased the dogs away, which is what ultimately saved the girl's life. With the Mumbai and Gondia incidents occurring within just a few days of each other, both have renewed concerns about safety around dogs in public and residential spaces.
