When dogs hogged the limelight

Animal-lovers in the City are a delighted lot. It’s the season of dog shows and the first of the many that will be held in the coming weeks kicked off to a great start over the weekend.

The ‘30th & 31st All Breed Championship Dog Shows’, presented by the Bangalore Canine Club, had hundreds of adorable little and big four-legged friends running behind you, greeting you with their oh-so-sweet expressions and jumping on you as you went down to pat them! Be it beagles, Irish setters, German shepherds, labradors, golden retrievers, mastiffs, boxers, dachshunds or cocker spaniels, there were at least ten of each.

Excited owners rushed to the venue, which was White Orchid in Manyata Tech Park and were seen giving the last touch-ups and pep talks to their even more excited pets. ‘Sit, stand, say hello’ were some of the orders that the cute little beings dutifully followed.

Sushant, a software engineer, was coming for a dog show for the first time with his nine-month-old golden retriever Zoey. The little one confidently sat awaiting the ‘General Category’ competition. “I had always wanted to experience a dog show and see what’s it like to have so many dogs in one place. I am bringing Zoey for the first time and didn’t prepare her much except for getting her coat done,” he said.

While there were ‘freshers’ like Zoey in the competition, the show also had ‘veterans’ like Tinku, a one-year-old cocker spaniel who had won gold medal at a dog show in Chennai. Nb Sub Shanthaseelan, a former member of the Army, proudly flaunted the friendly coffee brown creature. “The credit goes to my wife who has groomed Tinku so well. I have taken her to many dog shows many of which, she has won,” he gushed.

There were a number of stalls inside selling products like food items, shampoos, soaps and leashes for the dogs. Fidele, a unit of Bharat International Pet Foods Pvt Ltd and a co-sponsor, was one of them.

“It’s important to take care of animals with the right products and we have items meant just for them,” said Rajendran Das from the stall. “While we have wet food like chunks of chicken and turkey for the dogs, we also have wheat germ oil for their skin and hair. This oil can be used not just on dogs but also on hamsters, guinea pigs and birds,” he added.

Dr Ashutosh Shetty and Lata K Shetty have around 11 dogs in a farmhouse in Yelahanka and had brought two of the beauties here for the show — a pug named Zen and Bolt, a beagle. “We don’t really believe in dog shows as we root for the complete freedom of animals. It was on the suggestion of my brother that we entered Bolt in the competition,” explained Ashutosh. His other pet, two-and-a-half year old Zen, was not competing. 

Instead, he was sitting back and enjoying the attention of the passers-by. “The only thing that an animal requires from you is love. So whenever you get a pet, make sure you give it all the love that you can,” explained Lata.

Speaking of love, it was literally in the air as dog-lovers walked around a smitten lot. Well if happiness was a warm puppy as a popular saying goes, a visit to this show surely meant heights of blissful bonhomie.