‘To each dog, every man is Napoleon,’ said Aldous Huxley. One look at this year’s Chandigarh Dog Show and the saying proves true. Leisure Valley in Sector 10, Chandigarh, was the hotspot for the dog show hosted by the Chandigarh Kennel Club, where dog lovers from far and wide thronged to either participate or meet their four-legged furry friends, arguably the best human companions.
Held on Saturday and Sunday, the show was a confluence of various breeds —old and new — who competed on the second day to take home trophies for their proud owners. Alex Zee and Yu Sang from Taiwan were the judges. Pepped and polished to face stiff competition, Chihuahuas, Miniature Pinschers, Pekingese, Bull Terriers, Fox Terriers, Wirehaired Fox Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Bulldogs and various others trotted in tow with their owners.
On Sunday, some of the dogs seemed to have put forward a brave paw in the face of chaos, instead enjoying abundant pampering by their owners. One such was Togo, a Siberian Husky with one of his eyes coloured hazel and the other light green, basking in the glory of attention. Sitting close by was Luke, a two-year-old Beagle, who, on the contrary, seemed tired of all the interest after having won a trophy for the being the ‘Best in his Breed’.
A little further ahead, we spotted a Dogo Argentino named Rocky, a rare breed to have participated in the show. Shared Jaskaran Pawar from Naya Gaon, “This breed is from Argentina, though we imported him from Canada. We have another of the same breed and the two are best friends.” Another exotic breed to have made its presence felt was the Wirehaired Fox Terrier. Owing its origin to UK, this breed is known to be alert, friendly, fearless and bold. Utkarsh Rathore, who had come from Rajasthan with his pet, said, “My pet has won two awards for the ‘Best in his Breed’ and the ‘Best in his Group’. She will next fly to Europe to participate in a dog show there.” Another eye-catcher was a Rough Collie (a rare breed from Scotland) who had come from Indore to participate in the show.
{{/usCountry}}A little further ahead, we spotted a Dogo Argentino named Rocky, a rare breed to have participated in the show. Shared Jaskaran Pawar from Naya Gaon, “This breed is from Argentina, though we imported him from Canada. We have another of the same breed and the two are best friends.” Another exotic breed to have made its presence felt was the Wirehaired Fox Terrier. Owing its origin to UK, this breed is known to be alert, friendly, fearless and bold. Utkarsh Rathore, who had come from Rajasthan with his pet, said, “My pet has won two awards for the ‘Best in his Breed’ and the ‘Best in his Group’. She will next fly to Europe to participate in a dog show there.” Another eye-catcher was a Rough Collie (a rare breed from Scotland) who had come from Indore to participate in the show.
{{/usCountry}}Interestingly, many furry friends were in tune with current tech-friendly trends,
having their own Facebook accounts. When we met Dhoomi Kapoor, a two-and-a-half-year-old Lhasa Apso, we were informed of her online followers. “Dhoomi has participated in many dog shows across India and also won an award for being the ‘Second Best Dog in India’. She also has her own Facebook account and numerous followers,” her owner shared.
Old favourites such as Dalmatians, French Bulldogs, Greater Indian Spitz, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Saint Bernards, Great Danes, German Shepherds, Daschunds and Rottweilers proved they were still very much in demand.
Besides the champion breeds, puppy mills were eager to sell their pups, the prices of whom started at R3,000 and went up to a whopping R85,000.
Glamour quotient
Apart from the deserving candidates, there was another set of crowd pullers—blondes who had come from Russia and Europe. Courtesy extravagant and affluent owners of exotic breeds who wanted to bring in their ‘good friends’ to accompany the dogs, there was more than usual public display of affection, making temperatures soar.