Canines make a splash at Dasara pet show

A record number of entries with more than 480 dogs drawn from 45 breeds were displayed at this year’s Dasara pet show held in Mysuru on Sunday.

In addition, there were other pet animals including a few cats and “Gopi”, a pet golden retriever of author and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy stole the spotlight.

This golden retriever is a protagonist of a set of three books on the pet by Ms. Murthy -and showcased not just his charm but also captivated the audience some of whom posed for photographs with a copy of the book on him.

Ms. Murthy said pet animals are akin to family members and should be showered with love and affection and pet shows like this help children cultivate love towards animals. She drew attention to the injured and unwell animals, on streets and the imperatives of looking after them.

The 45 breeds included German Shepherd, Dobermann, Siberian Husky, Golden Retriever, Beagle, Saint Bernard, Rottweiler, Great Dane, Labrador, Poodle, Irish Setter among others. The organisers said that during last year’s pet show, 20 to 25 breeds were on display and the number had almost doubled this year. As many as 33 were foreign breeds and 12 were Indian breeds.

While the judges rated the dogs on various parameters and gave away the prizes, the visitors also had an opportunity to procure information on maintaining pets in general and helped raise awareness on adopting a more humane attitude towards animals in general.

Published - October 06, 2024 07:06 pm IST