When I was two years old, my grand parents who lived in Delhi wanted me to spend the summer with them. It was a four hour (in those days) flight and there was no one able to accompany me but I was still determined to go. It looked like that there would be no trip till at the last moment the airlines said they would take the responsibility of a two year old passenger travelling on his own. I saw my first Alsatian (now commonly called the German Shepherd-GSD) there. I fell in love with their dog and wanted to take him home with me. Of course my parents were horrified and that was the end of that. My grandfather was a dog lover and he thought my parents were being unreasonable. He later became my co-conspirator in my attempts to get a dog.
I met Caesar (most GSDs in India are called Caesar!) every summer for a number of years after that but there was no question of getting a GSD. Eventually when I was around five or six, my grandfather presented me a mixed breed small dog and convinced my parents that it would be good for my character building. How he managed this I will never know, but being a lawyer, he must have had great powers of persuasion.
Looby lived with me for another five years and then passed away. At that time I didn’t want another dog because I was in mourning but eventually my parents got me a purebred Golden Retriever. As a child, I was quite ungrateful, because I clearly remember stamping my feet in anger and demanding that I be given a GSD! Well, my mother retorted that if I wanted to kill the GSD then I could have one, because GSDs would not live long in Bombay, because the GSD could not tolerate the sea air, and we lived on the sea shore. That statement, coming just after losing a beloved pet, settled the matter for me and it always stuck at the back of my mind.
Later on, I fell in love with the Boxer breed, and have only had boxers since I was about twenty-four. Although when I went to shows, I admired the GSDs, but I had the feeling that they would not thrive in Bombay. As far as I was concerned, no GSDs for me!
I was put in charge of a few factories in Nasik, which is about 180 KM (100 miles) north of Bombay, inland. For security reasons in 1992, a few dogs were required. I was asked what to get, and I recommended Dobermans or GSDs. The manager of the factory opted for GSDs, and requested my help in buying them.
This was just the time when the imports of dogs was beginning on a large scale. Since I do appreciate “quality” in dogs, I suggested that we spend a little more and try and get dogs of good breeding. We obtained a son of the great “Odin von Tannenmeise” and two grand daughters. One of them was Cleo.
About two years later, something went drastically wrong and we lost the dog and one bitch. It was very sad, because they had been excellent working dogs. The only one left was Cleo. Anyway, there was little else to be done but try and figure out what had happened and ensure that Cleo stayed alive and, perhaps at a later date add a few more to the kennel.
Although the thought had crossed my mind that Cleo would be better off in Bombay with me, I did not really entertain any ideas of doing this. I had three Boxers, and a family to whom I had often enough explained that GSDs were not suited to the climate in Bombay.That was till my family told me that if I didn’t get Cleo, she would surely die! I was in a dilemma, and didn’t want to tell them that I thought that if she came home to Bombay, she would probably meet with the same misfortune. The pressure mounted, but I resisted. One day I was in Nasik and saw her looking all forlorn at the guard house. I still don't understand why, but on an impulse, I just decided to throw all caution to the wind and brought Cleo home. She was about 2 years old by then.
Well, I knew a bit about working dogs, and armed with the book, decided to try and show her. I enlisted
Besides showing, I was very impressed by her impeccable manners at home. She was extremely gentle with the children and despite being called a “one man dog”, she was impartial in her affections to all. She was very protective of the house, and woes betide any stranger who tried to enter unannounced. In about a year of her being with us, I had developed an unusual bond with her. It was strange, because my breed was Boxers. I suppose you could say that she trusted me implicitly, and I did try to live up to her expectations most times! I only show around Bombay, which averages to about six to eight shows a year.That was not adequate for GSDs, so I flew alone with her across the country to shows, looking after her myself, which I don’t usually do as I have always had help at home. This travelling also cemented the bond that I had developed with Cleo, as in the evenings we had nothing better to do than to look at each other!.
Her show career was very difficult. I started showing her when she was three and we would get into the last four, to be soundly trounced by the German imports. We never stood a chance. One option was to admit defeat and go home with our collective tails between our legs, and the other was to soldier on, but perhaps change our strategy and try and figure out what Cleo had that would draw the attention and appreciation of the judges. One thing was sure, she looked different from the other GSDs being shown, in that she had a construction that was more of the “old” type which augurs well, in my opinion, for good movement. So I decided that it was really time, to show off her movement
She was run five miles a day behind a bicycle for months in preparation for the next season of showing. The results started coming, as her muscles became more visible and her movement exquisitely fluid. Her top line was rock steady, and if I had the gumption, I could have put a glass of champagne on her back, and not a drop would have been spilled. In my opinion, the doyen of the dog world in India, Nawab Nazeer Yar Jung, had bred another dog true to his interpretation of the GSD Standard.
When she was four, we started showing her in earnest, because the family had decided that this was the last season she was going to be put through the stress of show preparation. She started out the same way, losing out at the top, and it began to get very disheartening for me. Perhaps I should have have stuck with my Boxers! We never won anything all season. The last shows were the Bombay shows, and there was no hope of her ever becoming a champion as it was unlikely she would get anything, as this cluster is extremely competitive. So, as a matter of formality, we entered her, and prepared her for her last shows. In fact I was so despondent that I had opted for a handler to show her rather than be humiliated again!
In the first ring it was Judge M.N.M. Cama of India officiating. I didn’t really pay much attention, till someone told me that Cleo was in the last four and still looking good. I was astonished, and more disbelieving when she won the Bitch CC. In the second ring under Judge Pramilla Singh of India, she won her second Bitch CC. Perhaps, I thought, I had been handling her all wrong. Handling a GSD is very different than handling a Boxer. It is a completely different kettle of fish as the stack is different, and the pace of the movement much faster in the GSD rings. The audience too is more raucous and I don't know how many of the poor dogs trying to show themselves appreciate the great hubbub at ringside. I did not dwell on this too long as it was an unforgettable day. We took her home with much jubilation and she was retired with 2 CCs. Not a champion, but almost one! Of course in my eyes, she had become a champion much, much before this.
I then felt, perhaps, it would not be such a bad idea to cross her. After much investigation and advice from people who are more knowledgeable than me, we chose her groom and off we went. The result was quite disappointing, to say the least. She did not conceive! I had her tested thoroughly, and the doctors concluded that there was nothing wrong with her and that it was a matter of timing and possibly bad luck. In the mean time we had eased up her regimen, and she was now just a pet at home, frolicking with the children.
The year went by swiftly, and the Boxers were doing well. That pleased me and was a consolation that at least I could finish some dogs if I tried hard enough. The Bombay shows came around again and we were showing the Boxers. On a whim, or more likely, unfulfilled ambition,unbeknownst to the family I entered Cleo. They did remark that I had put her back on pre-show schedule, but I was able to satisfy them with the explanation that there was no reason to let her go to seed just because she was not going to be shown! A few days before the show, I informed them that Cleo would be going too, as I wasn’t going to leave her home alone! I was so heroic in evading the verbal missiles that came my way that they relented and we were off to the show! The only regret I had was, that in protest, none of the family was going to come to the show because I had broken my promise to them to permanently retire Cleo from showing.
It was an excellent day for showing.The weather in Bombay was extremely cool for that time of the year which was very good for the Boxers as they tend to get tired in the heat. The Boxers are judged much before the GSDs because of this. In the first ring was Judge Phillip John of India and the second ring was Judge M.N.M. Cama who had already given Cleo her first CC. I won with the Boxers and it was time for the GSD judging. Cleo went under Judge Phillip John first. I was not paying attention because I knew there was not an iota of hope to win. All the top dogs in India were present.I then heard the crowd roar, and as I looked over, Cleo had won her third and crowning CC! She had done it! She was now Indian Champion Paigah’s Bliss! After many years, an Indian bred GSD had attained a championship and I had not watched it because I had no faith in her and had given up! It was even more humbling to hear from the crowds that she had shown her heart out while I, her feckless owner, idled his time away gossiping with all and sundry. It had been a magnificent performance I was told as she had beaten a lot of the top winning dogs. More unusual was that she was of the "old" type , without the acute angulation one sees in the GSD ring nowadays. I went home with the best GSD in India that day.It was almost too good to be true. It was like a fairy tale. I never showed her again.
When she was almost ten, she had been taken down for a walk after dinner prior to turning in for the night. When she came up, I noticed her sides were a bit swollen. She showed no signs of any ill effects, but I had read too much about the various ailments that can affect older dogs. I insisted we go to the hospital immediately because I instinctively felt that something was very wrong, in fact I suspected the dreaded bloat. On the way, she started showing the signs of bloat but we reached the hospital in fifteen minutes and the doctors went to work on her. I suppose her age was against her because despite having caught the bloat in time she was not responding to the treatment. When the doctors said they wanted to open her up under anaesthesia, I refused and said that I would take her home after she had been adequately sedated. I was once again making a decision that was selfish because the humane thing would have been to let her go. Hope is perennial and I hoped that by some miracle, things would be alright. I was a coward when the difficult and painful decision had to be made. When we reached home, she could barely walk and I carried her up in the lift (elevator) and reached the lobby of the flat (apartment). She was in terrible distress by now and there was no way I was able to carry her in. I sat in the stairwell with her in my arms, trying to give her as much comfort as a cowardly, vain, but despairing friend could. I prayed hard for the miracle, but none was forthcoming and none occurred. As her breath was being wrenched and twisted out of her body she looked into my eyes, and I into hers, and we both knew it was time to bid adieu. She put her head one last time into the crook of my elbow and she died as I cradled her in my arms. As her soul soared up in to the heavens high above, an irreplaceable part of me went along with her.
A sage once said, that all things must pass, and so it did. A chapter in my life closed forever. For me it was a long fifty years to make the friendship and gain the love of a breed that has an ethereal beauty and for which I have a tremendous fascination. It will always feel to me, too short a time, but I will look back with very poignant and fond memories of this part of my life, which i doubt will ever be repeated. I never realized till then how human Cleo had become to me, and such feelings, such emotions, are bound not to be replicated. Since then I have always wondered what it was that drew us so close together. Boxers are my breed, and I love them dearly. For a GSD to make such an impact on my psyche with regard to dogs is remarkable, no, almost impossible, unless she was an honorary Boxer!
I will forever be thankful that Cleo came in to my life and that I had the privilege of knowing her!
"The Lord said that there was never a time when we did not exist.
That which is nonexistent can never come into being, and that which
is, can never cease to be. The innermost reality is the Soul, which is
both changeless and eternal. How can it die with the death of the body?"
-The Bhagwad Gita (The Celestial Song)
Rest in peace my beloved friend!
