every dog has his day

dogs are on a roll.alongwith the booming economy.the burgeoning middleclass and the rich upper class are looking for additions to their family in the form of pet dogs. and if they are not available locally they are importing them.some time back, the managing director of a public bank brought for his young daughter a terrier from london.another ceo brought home a golden retriever.beagles and german sheperds too are coming in hordes.and many people want chihuahuas.and the cost? ranging from rs 10,000 to rs 100,000 depending on the breed.

realising that there is a big market for imported pups some enterprising businessmen have jumped into the bandwagon.if you want an imported pup all you have to do is to place the order with the local petshop.your pet,in all probability, will be flown in from thailand or from russia .customs rules allow you to bring two pets without duty.hence the imported pups come as pets and no duty is levied. animal rights activist maneka gandhi says that uzbekistan is a big exporter of dogs.on an average about 50 dogs walk out of the dutyfree channel.

but having goodlooking and cute imported dogs is one thing. and to train and take care of it is another. a recent incident involving writer and columnist tavleen singh is a case in point. she got into hot waters when her dog eased himself on the new marine drive promenade and she just walked off. when accosted by a bmc official, she refused to clean up and started throwing irrrelevant issues at the officer.the officer wanted to fine her rs 500 but she outright refused to pay. her logic.? when bmc has not made any provision for disposing off the poop,how could they fine the owner?

bmc additional commissioner quickly reacted by gifting tavleen singh a poop scooper.he says it is cheap and easy to clean up after the dog does the job. bmc,he says, is seriously trying to implement the sanitation bye-laws."apne shahar ko swaccha rakhiye". tavleen may not have an excuse next time if she is caught redhanded. many sympathetic residents of south bombay have offered tips to tavleen singh.carry a newspaper,carry a plastic bag or carry a scooper they have suggested.

rattty javeri,secretary of the mumbai kennel club, was recently spotted using a scooper and a plastic bag to clean up after her dog tracy. if ratty can do it,why can't tavleen. when bmc is spending a whopping rs 130 crores on beautifying marine drive, the least that citizens could do is to try to keep it clean. no arguments on that.

we too have two of them in our family.they are cocker spaniels.cherry and mango.they are the most adorables in the world!