“Private: Farm Residents Only. Basically dogs, cats, animals, witches and angels may enter.”A notice board with these words, mounted in an enclosure of bamboo, boards, nets and creepers near Pune’s National Defence Academy, sets the tone for ‘The Farm’, a flagship project of Protecterra Ecological Foundation, an environment advocacy organisation founded by Pooja Bhale, a Pune-based conservation biologist. “We have 20 cats, 11 dogs and, as of 2026, 11 goats,” says Bhale.Recently, a new mud structure has come up on the campus – dedicated to Oslo, a Siberian Husky who died after living with Bhale for 13 years. Draped over it are his blue towel, woollen socks he collected as arthritis stiffened his limbs, and the charpoy on which he used to sprawl.On Friday, Oslo: Tail of Promise, a documentary about the dog and Bhale, will be screened at the India International Centre in Delhi. The film, she hopes, will help spread awareness.Directed by Pune-based Isha Pungaliya and produced by actor John Abraham, Minnakshi Das and Amey Gosavi, the documentary follows Bhale and Oslo on a 5,000-km journey from Pune to the Himalayas.It is, says Pooja, about a promise. “The promise that I made to Oslo or he made to me is that we will go to the snow every year, that he belongs in the snow,” says Bhale.Oslo came into Bhale’s life when he was five-and-a-half months old. By then, he had already moved through six houses. His blue eyes reminded Bhale of the Northern Lights, so she named him Oslo. “The word Oslo, in ancient Norse, also means the stream by the bottom of a mountain. It also means God of the mountains in ancient Norse cultures,” says Bhale.Story continues below this adFrom 2014, the two travelled to the snow every year. The idea for the documentary came during a 2022 trip.“On one of the trips, while we were stuck in a traffic jam, Oslo was cranky and put his head out of the window. Immediately, all the windows around me rolled down and people started talking and children were giggling. I thought that we must document this impact that he has on people, how he makes people happy, and that became this incredible film,” says Bhale.In 2015, she moved to The Farm full-time, living in a tent. “I felt that I was hypocritical by living in a swanky penthouse in the city. I can’t talk about sustainability and consciousness and living with the earth if I did not walk my talk. The tent is my only home,” she says, pointing to the tent that holds a bed and work table, among other basic necessities.There are few locked doors at The Farm. “We don’t have boundaries at The Farm. Animals can go in and out, wild animals can come in and out. I don’t own any keys except my car key. I have not locked a door for a long time. I am dating a woman. I am divorced. I prefer the company of nature to anything else. But, I am true to myself. The person that I see in the mirror is happy,” she says.Story continues below this adThe documentary carries three messages – ‘Shared Planet’, ‘Adopt, Don’t Shop’ and ‘Nature is Sentient’.It was shot in May 2023 and January 2024. Pungaliya was firm that they were “not going to even consider making an animal perform because it’s unethical and problematic”.“As filmmakers, we have to be watchful and observant. Visiting The Farm helped me see patterns before the shoot,” she says. The film uses archival material as Bhale had been recording her trips.During one shoot, with the cameras positioned for Oslo’s first encounter with snow, a group of goats decided to tag along. Oslo simply bypassed the snow and took off in the opposite direction, leaving the crew in splits.Story continues below this adBhale says that Huskies are among the most abandoned breeds because people don’t understand what they require. “Everybody thinks that it has to do with weather and air-conditioning. Of course, they don’t belong to the climate of the plains but the greater challenge is that Huskies are working dogs who require high-energy activity. Their brain has evolved to traverse thousands of kilometers through snow pulling sleds,” says Bhale.The film, she hopes, will help spread awareness.