Akshaye Khanna has been missing his Spirit -- a four-month old puppy he adopted three months ago while visiting Mandwa in Maharashtra. Akshaye, who has been shooting for Priyadarshan's Garam Hawa in Madurai for a month now, says, "I saw a white, month-old puppy in Mandwa. She appeared to be all alone and I couldn't find her mom. She was all skin and bones but she had such a beautiful spirit and looked so happy that I picked her up and took her home." The actor adds, "I called her Spirit. I just couldn't resist her!"

Akshaye, being an animal lover, is all for stray dog adoption and sterilisation. "It's horrible to see them roaming the streets, starving or suffering from illnesses and diseases. When I adopted Spirit, I was surprised at the number of people who came up to me and said how much they appreciated me taking in a pariah. I think it would be great if we all could adopt one stray puppy. Spirit looks gorgeous now!"

Says Akshaye, "I miss Spirit her but she's too small to bring to Madurai. But no complaints, I am working with a very nice team of people. This is my fifth film with Priyan. I have also worked with Ajay (Devgn) before and Paresh (Rawal) and they are all great co-stars. They are all my friends so life becomes much easier when working with them." Fact Akshaye plays a CBI officer who helps investigate an honour killing that occurs in a village.