King Tommy at Scruffts!

BIG news from star Indy Tommy and Monique!! 

Beautiful Tommy has been a stellar ambassador for INDogs and INDog-mixes since he was first adopted: he is a certified, working Therapy Dog, champion in his training class, AKC Canine Good Citizen; and a show winner. Kudos to Monique for her dedicated campaign to earn respect for Indies, and to both of them for the years of hard work they have put in! 

Read about King Tommy in these earlier posts:

Tommy, Canine Good Citizen!

Tommy is now a Therapy Dog

Travels with Tommy

Travels with Tommy Part 2

Tommy at Agility School

King Tommy in Devon

King Tommy: rosettes and training!

And Monique's exciting account of his latest win: Most Handsome Dog at Scruffts, UK!

Monique's story below:

From Goa to Crufts!

It has been a great summer for King Tommy the show dog. Besides the fact that he is seven years old this year, he has continued to take the English novelty shows by storm, and to top it all he became Best in Show in Cornwall!

But there was one rosette missing...

The Scruffts competition is the crossbreed show organized by the Kennel Club of the UK, to allow crossbreed dogs from all over the country to enter and get their minute of fame in the show ring. It's for non-professionals, families and people who love their dog. It's becoming very popular and getting a lot of attention.

There was a qualifying heat in Plymouth, not far from where we are, and a dog trainer suggested we enter in 'Most Handsome Dog'. I found it silly because he is seven and a little bit overweight; he usually enters in 'Best Rescued Dog' - but the trainer insisted. And off we went! You have to win the qualifiers to get to the Semi Finals in London. And then you have to win the Semi Finals to get to the Finals at Crufts.

With a brand new collar, lead and bow tie, we entered the ring. Another 30 dogs were there to qualify as well and the judge looked sternly at all of us.

There is no breed description - they are all crossbreeds - and many are so-called designer dogs - so the judge has to choose a temperament, looks, whether the dog is well-behaved and obedient.

Would we have a chance to show the world what a great Indian dog King Tommy really is?

We turned on the Tommy charm, and he posed like a real pro.

We're called to step forward to the final six, come on Tommy! And then the judge chose 3rd place, 2nd place...still nothing. And the winner is...King Tommy!!!!

Instead of behaving like people in England do, smile and gently place my dog on the 1st place podium, I ran to the judge, an elderly man dressed in tweed, hugged him, kissed him and yelled out 'I love you!'

We're in! We're going to London to the Semi Finals!!!!

'Three months later we were on our way to London in tow with a journalist. A friend sponsored us with a nice hotel room. We had also been chosen to participate in a documentary about Scruffts for English TV, so it was a full agenda we had in front of us.

Being groomed for the big day!

On the way to London!

On D-Day the journalist and a couple of friends, including Rochelle Lucas who owns beautiful Indy Kala, all met up with us at the show grounds in London. The TV crew had filmed us on the way to the show. I clearly stated on camera that 'we are not the underdogs, we are the top dogs!'

Tommy had been professionally groomed and looked impeccable. Needless to say, another new collar, lead and bow tie were in place this time. 

The TV crew all admired his calm when they put a harness with a GoPro on him to film us going into the show from the dog's point of view.

We were ready. All my friends and Rochelle with a big camera all went to the ring to see us make it or break it.

Needless to say, I started to feel the pressure build up and started to cry before we went into the ring.

'You have to go in, NOW!'

And Tommy turned on his magic again, he trotted in, proud and tall, and I could notice the judge looking twice at him.

Marina Scott is a world champion handler and TV commentator on dog shows; she was our judge, young and different from other judges.

She went to each dog (there were 15 other qualifiers from all the UK) and kneeled down to greet them.

When it was our turn a microphone appeared and I was asked to tell about Tommy's life and his achievements. I start talking and then I looked down at Tommy to see him playing with the judge. Not sure it's a good thing or a bad thing.

The judge smiled and walked on.

My friends did the thumbs up, all seemed to go well.

But you never know. Because Tommy is so unusual looking the judges either love him or hate him. 

And then, in front of the large audience, Marina had to decide.

3rd place, not us. 2nd place, not us. 1st place...And the winner is...'KING TOMMY!!!'

And again I picked up my King and ran around kissing and hugging everyone I saw!

The judge gave Tommy a hug and again I had a microphone put in front of me. I had to say something, and I dedicated this win to all our Indian dogs.

Tommy, ever the calm dog, posed like a pro in front of the cameras, the TV crew, and everyone wanted to touch him and take a photo.

We are going to Crufts!

On March 2017 we will battle it out with the other five finalists (Prettiest Bitch, Best Rescue, Golden Oldie, Good Citizen Dog, Child's Best Friend). 

Meanwhile the TV crew will come and film us here in Devon and the journalist will have three articles about Tommy in Dogs Monthly.

This is an amazing moment and we feel so honoured to represent Indies and INDogs at Crufts. Meanwhile, we have to survive our first (and most likely last!) English winter...

Thank you to Rochelle Lucas, Anna Wells and Tony Vickers for the photos!

Story: Monique G Nerman

Photos: Rochelle Lucas, Tony Vickers, Anna Wells, Monique G Nerman

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The K Gang trek to Subedar Falls

Our photos from an outing in the monsoons! 

We went with a small group of Kiran's friends.

Subedar Falls is in the Sahyadri mountains, and not far from Mumbai. It's a pretty place and an easy walk, though you have to clamber over rocks to cross the second stream and reach the waterfall (neither Kiba nor I cared for that part). Sitting near the falls was very nice though, and so was the walk across the fields. 

































We were guided by two young men from the nearby village Sandshi. A very friendly village dog came along with them; probably owned by one of the men. Kiba is not at all friendly with other dogs, so we took care to keep some distance between the two of them. We had packed the K Gang's lunch and carried it with us, and we gave some to our cute canine guide too. You can see him in the background in the pictures below.


































































































The Gang LOVE these outings; all the new sights, smells, fresh air, exercise!

If you're new to this blog, you might like some of our earlier family outing posts:

Kiba and Kimaya go rock-climbing
The K Gang trek to Sunset Point
Running from Diwali
The K Gang at sea
































NOTE: The top priority must be to keep your dog safe. Some things to remember if you'd like to take your dog/s trekking:

• If you are not a regular trekker, it's best to get an experienced trekker to accompany you
• Make sure to carry at least 2 litres of cool water (thermal bottles are nice) and a bowl 
• Some basic medication in case of cuts and scratches, and a vet-recommended anti-histamine just in case of bad insect bites or stings
• Avoid forested areas with possible leopard presence 
• Get a local guide if necessary; getting lost will not be fun 
• Let your dog rest if he wants to; never force him to walk if he needs a break
• Avoid trekking in hot weather
• DO NOT LET YOUR DOG/S OFF LEASH
• Stick to the path and don't let your dogs go deep into long grass; there may be snakes
• Feed your dogs one or two hours before leaving your home. Avoid feeding them during the trek or during any other strenuous exercise. 

Subedar Falls

Maharashtra

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Jackie

Jackie is the first Indy I know of in Russia! Isn't he handsome?

This lovely INDog is from Palolem, Goa, and now lives in St Petersberg with owner Maria Shuvarikova and her other dog Jess.

'There isn't an adoption story,' Maria said, when I asked her for one. "It is a sharing-breakfast love story. 

The boy is so adorable!' 

Jackie in Goa

In St Petersberg with Maria's other dog, Jess

Winter is coming, and soon the dogs will be in sweaters and boots! Here they are in the first snow in St Petersberg!

 Photos: Maria V Shuvarikova

St Petersberg

Russia

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Sophie at three

The latest update on beautiful Goa Indy Sophie, sent in by her proud owner! 
If you are new to this blog, you can read her earlier posts here and here.

This month on 7 September Sophie turned three, and believe me – she just gets smarter and cuter all the time!

She loves her morning walks, and in addition to walking up the beautiful Goan hills and smelling the flowers, she also enjoys meeting and playing with all her friends. She is terribly energetic and that keeps her totally slim and fit. Even her vet asks how does she manage to maintain her shape? Normally neutered dogs will put on a lot of weight - but not our Sophie! Always working it off. Walking running and jumping around in the hills.

She’s a lovely friendly dog, with a beautiful temperament, and is friends with all the dogs in the colony. The dogs that live with their humans and the ownerless ones too. Okay she’s smart and intelligent and initially tends to be the top-dog when she meets a new doggy – but after she’s told to 'be nice, that’s a friendly doggy', she’s great with all dogs and even with cats. And most other animals too. We have on occasion bumped into a wild boar, a monkey, some snakes and a group of peafowl on our morning walks in the hills. And she’s been really great with them. Really proud of her – as an animal lover. No aggression, no chasing, no barking. Stops, looks at me (as if to ask 'did you see that?') and then sits with me and watches them go by. After that wants to smell where they’ve walked etc. Understands 'be careful', knows (instinctively) to be careful of snakes and such, and basically totally mirrors the animal lovers she lives with.

She helped me rescue a tiny kitten a week back who’s safely with a friend now; adopted and entertaining all there. Lovely little kitten that was shivering and scared of Sophie – who was only trying to protect him – till I came and then she literally dragged me to see the kitten and kept looking at me, as if to say 'what’ll we do with him now?' 

She does have her favourite friends too. There’s the brown dog (Brownie – that lives with a neighbour down the road) whom she loves to meet and play, nay, horse around with, big time, every morning after her walk. They look like they’re attacking each other  but are just playing, believe me. And there’s the small female free-roamer (gray one in the pics) that she loves having for company on her walks… Right up the hills and back.

She is an extremely picky eater. Loves tasty stuff and will eat almost anything, provided it tastes good. Loves pasta, with or without sauce, loves vegetables and will eat meats only once a day. Chapatis are her favourite as are soups (any type even spinach), ice-cream and pudding.

She loves to join me in feeding the colony free-roamers. She will get really mad and start barking her head off at me, if I go out and feed them without her.

Remember how she organized her own adoption? Well she’s now helping me with the important ABC (animal birth control) stuff for all her friends in the colony where she lives.

She helped me catch them to send them to the local neutering centre – and missed them like anything while they were away for three days getting spayed and recovering, and was ecstatic when they came back!

In fact the day they were all gone, she was totally down, very quiet and even refused to eat the whole day, wondering where her friends had gotten to and what we’d done with them. I think seeing them being loaded into the caged-truck somewhat upset her…

When I got back in the evening I took her to where she normally meets them and explained to her that they’ll 'be back soon,' words she understands as we often tell her that when someone’s gone off somewhere. And she gets it. So she understood and then was back to normal!

Text and photos: David

Goa

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Horace

Get ready for some of the cutest puppy photos in this blog! The competition is VERY stiff, as you'll know if you've been following all our other INpuppies!

Horace is a Mumbai-born INDog-mix, living with Scott Berry and his family in Olympia WA in the US. 

'He was rescued from a near-death bus collision at two weeks,' writes Scott. 'Our niece was in India and saw him about to be hit. She saved him, raised him there for a few months, and flew him back to the US. We took him in when he was about four months.'

Here's his puppy album with photos of him in India and in the US. There are lots of adorable photos of him, so more of his adult pictures will follow in a second post. He's so cute, it was tough to choose just a few!


  

Photos: Scott Berry and family

Olympia WA

USA

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