Small Animal Practitioners Association (SAPA) Guwahati organised a Dog Show on January 7, Sunday. The event took place at Veterinary College Ground, Khanapara from 9AM to 2PM.
A total of more than 220 dogs belonging to 24 different breeds took part in what can be called the biggest dog reunion in Northeast India. Along with dogs from across Guwahati, many dogs also came from other parts of the State like Joklabanda, Nagaon and Tezpur.
The main objective of the Dog Show was to promote the adoption of local breeds amongst dog lovers of the city. Speaking to G Plus, Dr. Pradyut Kumar Sharma, General Secretary of SAPA and owner of Pet & Vet informed, “Our main aim was to request all dog lovers to adopt local street dogs and we were very happy to see a tremendous increase in the number of street dogs that took part this year, compared to the previous year.”
He further informed that more than 30 local dogs took part in the Dog Show. Other breeds included German Shepherd, Lhasa Apso, Labrador, Bulldog, Pug, Pit bull, Chow Chow, Dalmacian, Siberian Husky, Chihuahua, St Bernard, Shih Tzu and Pomeranian, to name a few.
The competition was judged by Dr. Kushal Sharma, Professor, CVS; Dr. Bhupen Sharma, Professor, CVS; and Captain Dhananjay Rao, Dean, CVS Nagaland.
While the first prize went to a Siberian husky, Labrador took away the second prize and the third prize went to Rottweiler.
The judges expressed appreciation and satisfaction about the initiative and the increase in the number of participants. Compared to last year, this edition saw an increase in participation and the judges were very satisfied to see the enthusiasm amongst people.
Animal welfare organisation, Just Be Friendly (JBF) and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) were also associated in the event. GMC officials requested all the participants and pet owners to register their pets under the municipality corporation as per the law. Over 40 dog owners registered their dogs on the same day and others took the registration forms to register in the near future.
Various animal food and medicine companies also took part in the event and free products were distributed to the pets and their owners.
Talking about the response, Dr. Sharma said, “The Dog Show received overwhelming response from people belonging to various walks of life. Being a practitioner, I feel really happy to see people that more and more people are adopting street dogs and giving them the care that they deserve.”