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| Laiga, the German Shepherd from Gangtok with his spoils. |
Speaking about the “Dog Show”, the DKC president Manish Lama said, “The primary aim behind this show is to create awareness about the apathy of the street dogs and to tie up with major companies to provide vaccinations to these canines. The population of the street dogs is on the rise and this can pose problems to the town. The solution here is to give these dogs rabies vaccination and then control their birth rate by way of sterilization and this is only possible if some companies sponsor us”. It must be noted here that last year, incidents of stray dogs attacking humans in an around the town areas had created panic and fear among the citizens.
The DKC was formed three to four months back and today’s show was their first of the many that will be organized in the days to come. “We are working as an NGO at the moment and all our programs and work is being done on our own capacity. We have however started the process of getting our club associated or registered with government agency for the long term work on vaccination and sterilization of street dogs of the town,” said Lama.
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| A golden retriever shows off her golden locks. |
Labradors, Great Danes, German Shepherds, Pugs and Dobermans were among the many breeds that walked the ramp in the yet to be completed open air amphitheatre at Chowrastha with their owners giving them directions. A two year old Laiga, a German Shepherd that had come to participate from Gangtok was the toast of the show enthralling the crowd with his tricks and sheer size. Similarly, owner Dipasna Agarwal’s pug named Angel drew applause and was the darling of the event. “It is great that dog shows are now being organized in Darjeeling. It is one of the many ways to appreciate a man’s loyal company and best friend. Besides, it also encourages owners to train their pets, even though the grooming costs are high nowadays,” said Mahendra Thami, a reputed painter who owns two Doberman, a German Shepherd and a Dalmatian.
For dog lovers both locals and tourists visiting the hills town, today’s event was an experience to remember as they went about clicking photos of their favorite dog. “I come often to Darjeeling but most of the times I laze about in Chowrastha. However, today I am really excited as dogs are my favourite and to see so many breeds at one time has made my day. I wish such shows are organized frequently in Darjeeling as this will provide tourist like me an alternative entertainment and reasons to stay longer,” said Rajeev Shukla, a tourist from Kolkata.
The winning dogs in the four categories- small, medium, large and giant- were given trophies, certificates and dog food hampers.
Source:EOI
