Randeep Hooda is all set to take off to Malaysia for two months for Deepak Tijori's thriller, Do Lafzon Ki Kahaani, and his puppy love is already devastated. The actor met Candy six years ago when the pooch was wandering outside the Mumbai airport one hot summer day when the actor had gone to pick up his visiting parents. “We met at the airport and have been together since,“ he smiles. The actor admits that he had wished for a dog called Rocky or Rambo but now that he has Candy, he isn't complaining.

Candy has been with him on shoots all over the city, even the country, and this time too he was all set to pay the price of being with his pet. “But then I discovered that Malaysia has a really long quarantine period and I didn't want to leave Candy alone with strangers. By the time she was out, it would be time for me to return and then she'd have to be in quarantine again. So, I decided to fly down my parents to Mumbai instead so that mom can babysit Candy,“ he sighs, not looking forward to his pet seeing him packing for the trip because then she'll inevitably start pawing him, with a doleful expression in her eyes.

Candy doesn't boast of great pedigree. She's a desi mongrel with a touch of Dalmatian, he believes, pointing to the faded spots on her white hide. “But she's super intelligent and understands that `Action' means you stop wandering around and `Cut' means you can carry on,“ he says proudly. “Everyone loves her, and like me she loves everyone except ladies with big handbags. She's even made friends with my horses and goes with me to the race course everyday when I'm in Mumbai. She's my true soulmate... Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge for real!“