Three golden retrievers with their handlers at the dog show in Malda on Thursday. Picture by Surajit Roy

Malda, Feb. 21: A dog show here yesterday brought over 80 canines together to compete and attracted over several hundred spectators.

It was the first contest for dogs in Malda, organised by the Malda Canine Club, which had organised a dog exhibition last year, but no contest.

The Malda show has some distance to go when compared with the Calcutta Kennel Club annual dog show, where several hundred tail-wagging participants are seen. But the enthusiasm of some of the owners was remarkable, considering that some came from Calcutta and even Jamshedpur in neighbouring Jharkhand. There were also dogs from Durgapur, Siliguri, Raiganj and Howrah.

Gersheps Princess walked away with the title, Champion of Champions.

The German shepherd was among 87 pooches of different breeds that strutted on the Malda College grounds.

The participants were judged by Sudeshna Mitra-Woodhatch and Sudipta Bhaduri, both from Calcutta.

Pradeep Ghosh, the proud owner of Gersheps Princess, said: “She is two-and-a-half years old. She is a perfect German shepherd. She obeys every command. When I ask her to walk slowly or fast, she does so. Princess is very intelligent and aware of outsiders when they come visiting our home on BT Road (Calcutta). She has all the traits of perfect German shepherd,” said Ghosh, who is from Calcutta.

Princess had also won the first prize in the Asia Pacific Kennel Competition in Jamshedpur on January 15 and 16.

Pratyaparna Singh Roy, the president of the Malda Canine Club, said 16 breeds had taken part in the show yesterday.

“The dogs were judged for their physical perfection, poise, gait, obedience and energy. Each breed was divided into age groups and the judges, both affiliated to the Kennel Club of India, judged them accordingly.”

The organisers said most of the dogs were German shepherds. There were also beagle, golden retriever, spitz, spaniel, pug, doberman, dalmatian, labrador, lhasa apso and dachshund. Roy said: “This year, there was a proper competition. The main aim of the show is to create awareness of breeds and how to best maintain them.”