Bow Wow

These are just few examples of the temperament of the dogs from the collection owned by Aditya Mehendale. He possesses 45 exotic breeds of dogs that include Irish Setter,Golden Retriever,Dachshund,Cocker Spaniel,Bull Terrier,St Bernard,English Mastiff,French Bulldog,Boxer,Beauceron and many more. Mehendale,an ardent animal lover started his collection with just two dogs a year ago – a Basset Hound and an American Cocker Spaniel and now has 45 of them. “I am very fond of animals,especially exotic dogs. I can simply spend hours and hours with them,” says Mehendale,who knows all his pets by their respective ages,food habits,temperaments,and of course their names.

Since it was not possible for him to keep so many of them at his house in Pune,where he already has three dogs,he has a place on the outskirts of the city,near Ravet,wherein all the dogs stay in their respective kennels. There are five caretakers appointed to look after them throughout the day. There is also a dog trainer,who visits them thrice a week. Mehendale visits them every day and spends two hours in the morning and one hour in the evening. “That’s the time they all get restless. It is just impossible to leave all of them together,as they all are very different by nature. While some are very docile,others are simply ferocious. So I attend to them one by one,” says Mehendale.

So much is his obsession of exotic breeds that,as and when he comes across a different breed,he picks it up,even if it is priced exorbitantly. All the canines have been bought from different places across the world. For instance,he purchased Shar Pei from Bangkok,the French bulldog from Delhi and the English Mastiff from Lucknow. Considering the rarity of the breeds,on an average,each dog of his is worth Rs 50000. “There are very few Dachshunds in India,and I own one of them,” he says with pride.

But Mehedale is strictly against selling his pets; no matter what price he is offered. Also,if any of his female pets give birth to puppies,he makes sure the person he is giving it to,is a genuine dog lover. And that too,not before the puppies are 10-week-old. He adds,“I want them to be healthy and have good resistance. I don’t mind bringing up the puppy on my own rather than letting them go in wrong hands.”

He makes sure that each and every dog is well fed and healthy. Besides dog food like pedigree and boiled chicken,the dogs are given daily dose of food booster,nutricoat,calcium and liv-52. “I feed them till they leave something in their bowl,” he says.

Mehendale is not a regular at the dog shows,in spite of owning some of the rarest of breed of dogs. “Except a few of them,dog shows in Pune are very inefficiently organised. Even dog parlours here are not up to the mark,” he says.

Though 45 seems to be a very big number to have as a collection of pets,Mehendale is already on the lookout for other breeds to add on to his collection. “I plan to buy a Newfoundland,a Tibetan Mastiff and a Brazilian Mastiff,” he concludes.