Dogs and their trainers work very hard to put their best foot forward at shows. But at this year’s Beliaghata Kennel Club pet show, there was a group that had it even tougher: the volunteers.
Held at a field near Chingrihata off EM Bypass, the show drew enormous crowds that tried to climb trees, slip in through the bamboo fences and get as close as they could to the performing dogs. The volunteers were perpetually on their feet and the announcers went hoarse crying: “Please don’t lean against the barricades.”
Before the breed show was a test of obedience. The stars of this round had come from Kharagpur and the crowd watched in amazement as Dona the German Shepherd leapt through a loop, Remi the Labrador jumped over a hurdle… Finally it was Tommy the Doberman who won the round.
“Many of us have come from Kharagpur together for this show,” said Satbir Singh, whose Golden Retriever Buggi came second. “The dogs enjoyed the three-hour ride and are loving meeting people and other dogs here today.”
“Breed shows are aplenty but obedience rounds have almost gone extinct from shows these days,” said one of the organisers, Pratap Kundu. “So we were particular about starting the show today with this category. Visitors are awed by the dogs’ skills and the dogs who train in obedience round the year too got a stage to perform.”
A German Shepherd Dog stands on his hind legs, on command
In the breed round, there was a thunderous roar of fans as two beautiful St Bernards — John and Jenny of Chandernagore — entered the ring. Unperturbed by the attention, John walked straight to the centre of the ring, raised a leg and marked his territory.
“John is the calm one, Jenny is restless,” said Pritam Chakraborty, with whom they had come. “The family has Macaws at home and they sit on the dog’s heads without anyone reacting. We also have a Pomeranian and a Pug but didn’t get them today. If visitors at the show tried to lift and pet the smaller dogs, the St Bernards would have thought them to be thieves and attacked them!”
There was Rocky, a Labrador, who drew attention as he came dressed in owner Amit Hari’s T-shirt. “I’ve rolled up the sleeves for his comfort,” Amit smiled, before releasing his chain and letting him play freely with visitors. “Neither Rocky nor I have been to a dog show before and we came out of curiosity.”
A Labrador jumps through a ring; St Bernards John and Jenny in the house; a Great Dane surrounded by curious bystanders
His namesake was Rocky, the handsome harlequin Great Dane, and owner Amrapali Roy Chowdhury couldn’t sing enough praises of him. “Rocky is very loving and calm. Despite him weighing 60kg I am able to control him easily when I take him for walks. The only problem is if he spots a cat! Then he’ll chase the kitty like there’s no tomorrow.”
There was a Rottweiler Leo who all wanted to approach but instead, took a step back, seeing him sport a muzzle. “Leo is a rescued dog. He comes from a divorced family where neither spouse wanted to keep him,” explained Pralay Datta.
Leo was adopted by a home but they gave him up too. “He has come to my house now but the frequent uprooting has taken a toll on him. He has lost weight and even bitten my relative out of stress. So, much as we want to socialise him at shows, we are not taking chances,” said Datta, explaining why the muzzle had to be on.
The Best in Show prize went to Anuradha Tagore’s Beagle.