“She wanted to be by my side.” Dog walks 15000 km with 28-year old man and won’t leave him for anything in this world
I began my first long walk during the pandemic. I still remember the date clearly, September 1, 2020, right in the middle of uncertainty and lockdown fatigue. Many people tried to dissuade me. Some were surprised; others openly questioned my decision. Why would anyone want to walk 520 kilometers on foot?There was, however, one person who said something that stayed with me. He asked me to click photographs along the way, adding that we rarely get to see how places look when approached through untrodden paths. That single thought was encouragement enough. And so, I set off on my first journey on foot-from Rishikesh to Badrinath.”For 28-year-old Yati Gaur, the experience was transformative. “The pace of walking, the silence, the changing landscapes, and the constant dialogue with myself made it unlike anything I had known before. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do it again-and then again. At the time, I had no plans of building a career around it or posting seriously on Instagram. I did take photographs and share them occasionally, but without any strategy or expectation.”In January 2021, Yati decided to walk through Rajasthan. It was during one of these journeys that he met Butter.
Yati Gaur, who lives in Noida, is today a well-known social media influencer who goes by the name theunfoldingplay. With over 106,000 followers, he has walked nearly 15,000 kilometres across 13 states—much of it with his dog Butter by his side. Through his posts, Yati shares stories from the road, capturing travel not as a checklist of destinations, but as lived, breathing experience.“It was during my walk across Rajasthan that I met Butter,” Yati recalls. “I first saw her in Bhojawas village, among seven or eight puppies. Their mother was nowhere to be seen. When I went to play with them, the others ran away, but Butter came straight to me. It felt like love at first sight.” After asking the villagers for permission, Yati picked her up and carried her in his arms.
At the time, Yati was working in the hospitality industry. With working parents and a sibling, he struggled to figure out how he would care for a puppy. An elderly uncle who happened to be his neighbour agreed to keep Butter, and the puppy grew up in his home alongside another dog. Eventually, managing two dogs became difficult, and Butter was returned to Yati.Day boarding did not work-Butter kept falling ill. Adoption attempts failed, and even an NGO demanded ₹80,000 to take him in. “I didn’t have that kind of money,” Yati says. “So I decided against it.”
On his next journey, Yati took Butter along. “We don’t travel continuously,” he explains. “We stay in one place for long periods and explore slowly.” At one point, Yati left Butter with shepherds in Rishikesh, believing it would be a good life for him. But Butter followed him 12 kilometers downhill. Yati dropped Butter again, but he returned, waiting outside Yati’s hotel room and scratching at the door.That was the moment Yati understood: Butter wasn’t going anywhere.He began training Butter for long walks-slowly increasing distances, teaching him endurance, and adapting food and rest routines. “Soon I realised Butter was better equipped for these journeys than I was,” he says. That realisation gave him confidence.On November 1, 2022, they began their longest walk together-from Badrinath through Uttarakhand, the plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, all the way to Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. From there, they continued through Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to Somnath in Gujarat. Yati experimented with customised shoes for Butter, but they proved uncomfortable. Instead, he focused on rest, weather-appropriate gear, and long breaks.
Today, Butter is believed to be the first Indian dog to walk nearly 15,000 kilometers on foot.The bond Yati shares with Butter is difficult to put into words. It was not built overnight, nor out of convenience, but through miles of trust, patience, and shared silence. What began as a solitary walk for Yati, gave him a unique companionship-proving that sometimes the reward is not awaiting the end of an expedition but is with you all along the journey.
