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A dog show was held this winter under the banner of Baguiati Mela. In its second edition, the show, held at Narayantala Math, drew more than 60 participating dogs.
“Every edition of the show is a learning experience and we hope to do an even better job next year,” said Sourav Mukherjee, who was on the organising committee.
Although the best in show trophy went to Surojit Upadhyay’s German Shepherd Dog, there were several other participants that we couldn’t turn our eyes away from.
Text: Brinda Sarkar
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Mehuli Roy, a seven-year-old, tried her best to “stack” Baha, her Beagle, but she kept walking off disinterested. Visitors thought Baha had been named after the protagonist of the popular TV serial Ishti Kutum, but Mehuli’s father Partha Roy then gave an explanation that replaced the amused smiles with bewilderment. “She has been named after an intrepid Maoist Bahamoni Soren who had fought everyone who tried to put her down. I hope our Baha too beats all other dogs today and lives up to her namesake,” Roy said.
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Buddy became the most sought-after dog at the show once word spread that he was trained to pose for selfies! “Buddy, selfie pose!” called out trainer Prosenjit Chatterjee and the black Labrador immediately sat next to an astonished girl holding out her phone at herself. “Everyone teaches dogs to sit and stay, but I always teach my dogs new tricks,” smiled Chatterjee, who then let out another miracle command: “Buddy, chhele ke hattey niye ja!” Buddy picked up his four-month-old son Prince’s leash in his mouth and went for a stroll around the field, the little one in tow. The visitors gaped and nearly rolled over with laughter. “I believe the best training is imparted through fun and games and look how well they’ve learnt their tricks,” said Chatterjee.
Paws with nail polish
Those who went to pet Daisy, the Dalmatian, were taken aback to see a faint orange “smiley” on her head. “My daughters were getting mehendi done on their hands and they didn’t want Daisy to feel left out so they painted a smiley on her too,” said Prasanta Kumar Bardhan. The girls — nine-year-old Sanjana and four-year-old Jasmine — said they also deck Daisy up with necklaces and watches. “Since she doesn’t have a long coat I tie her ears with my scrunchie. She loves it,” said Sanjana. Their mother Shantana added that they had put nail polish on the Dalmatian a few days ago. “I had to remove it last night so she was fit before this show,” laughed Shantana.
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Piyali Bose had lovingly named her Pugs Romeo and Juliet but all they did at the show is fight! “Romeo is a year-and-a-half and is quite peaceful but Juliet, who is all of four months, bites him all over,” said Piyali lifting Juliet, who was adorned in a scarf the size of a ladies’ handkerchief, out of the basket and away from Romeo. “I had hoped they would be mates but I can’t even keep them in one basket now. I hope they grow fond of each other with time.”
Hijacked by fans
The last thing Priyanka Das did with her Dachshund Charu was to tag her along to the show. “Thereafter the local children have taken over. I’m not even sure where she is now,” said Priyanka. Charu was taking a walk in the park, escorted by four schoolboys. Two of them fought over who would hold her leash while two more toed briskly ahead of them, asking the crowd to make way for the sausage-shaped VIP.
“We live nearby and play cricket in this park but today we came and found this dog show on. We love dogs but are scared of the bigger ones. Charu is just the right size to fuss over,” said one of the boys, Abhijit Sardar.
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All hell broke loose when a muscular Doberman, Bingo, broke his metallic chain and charged at a passing Labrador. Bingo had been resting in his shed with his family when the Lab crossed his shed. “Bingo is a great dog and loves people,” said owner Snehashis Kundu later meekly. “But he hates dogs.”No sooner did Bingo dart out breaking his shackles, than Snehashis, his wife, his teenaged son and Bingo’s handler pounce on him in a bid to hold him back. “He put up a good fight but somehow we managed to control him,” said Snehashis. The Lab was then whisked away to safety.
Ten minutes later, Bingo was back in his shed, in chains. “Bingo’s so strong that he frequently breaks his chains. So whenever we take him out we take three chains with us,” smiled Snehashis, pointing at the second chain of the day around his dog’s collar.
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The dude of the day was Happy, who came in a red T-shirt — his Sunday best. The four-year-old and 12kg-heavy Pug has many clothes. “He loves dressing up and has a T-shirt for every day of the week. He even has some hoodies and a Jawhar coat that we had got him from Kashmir,” said guardian Suvrodeep Chatterjee. “I think winter is his favourite season as he gets to wear clothes. The rest of the year is too hot.”
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Little Priyangi Basu walked about with her Pug Lisa and told everyone how smart she was. “When I sit to do my homework Lisa sits on my lap. And I think she has learnt maths from me. If I show her two biscuits and give her only one, she always knows there’s one more that I’m hiding,” said the nine-year-old as those listening to her laughed.
