Entered the Sports Stadium and the first hoarding to catch my eye had words ‘Let them Wag’… Interesting I thought… It was an advertisement for the ongoing Dog Show at Pune that we had been to… On two consecutive Sundays, last Sunday was for best of Labradors, Boxers and Great Danes… and yesterday it was dedicated to German Shepherds… All these shows are just the same and so are its participants (all dogs of a breed look alike to me!!)… But Amit’s incessant love for dogs takes us to every dog show held in Mumbai or Pune… Nithila and me happily follow… I love being at these shows, specially seeing Nithila touch and pat and hug all the dogs, and they surrendering to her, inspite of being double her size…

All these dogs are brought to the show by their owners/ breeders to participate in the so-called championship, at the end of which are selected champions in various categories… and in the process, these dogs are made to stand in a particular pose, displaying their body length, bone structure, front and hind legs in different angles and overall posture (is that also what the models display in beauty pageants? But I prefer seeing these fluffy canines over the malnourished models!!!)… ok then here, dogs are expected to do a little more than that… they are judged on how accurately they follow instructions given like run, fetch, chase, sniff etc… it is a sheer delight to see how these dogs obey the given orders (though not sure if credit should be given to the dogs or to the trainers !!!)… and the winners are presented with bouquets, certificates and trophies… whoa… I cant make out the difference in expressions of the winning and the losing dogs (or any dog for that matter!!)… but yes, the owners of the winning dogs showcase plenty of expressions from joy to pride…

In and around these shows thrives a pet market… selling all pet articles from food, to eating bowls, to sprays, to soaps and shampoos (foam too!!), to belts, to blankets, to grooming accessories… many varieties, many brands… dogs are really really spoilt for choices… going one step ahead, I think it’s a parallel economy and that too economy of classes and not the masses… very obvious from the fact that of the hundreds of cars in the parking lot at the shows, about 80-85% are high end sedans and SUVs… Some kennels also have their own limos (call them caravans if you like!!), customized to carry crates for transporting dogs…

While all this is indeed a rich mans indulgence, I have found it very intriguing and enjoyable from a distance that I am at… just don’t like one thing about all this show business… like we parents get tensed during our childrens’ admissions, exams etc, similarly, the dog owners are all tensed throughout the competition… look distressed when not qualified, bite nails while prizes are announced… and catching on the mood of their masters, the dogs am sure must be displeased as well… but why put them under so much of pressure? Why take away the innocence from them? Why subject them to uncanny competition? These are the loveliest animals one can have around… let them live with you, let them move freely, let them love you selflessly, let them lick, sniff… and as they rightly said ‘let them wag’………