Perfect Pooches on a Mission

Being in a car crash 11 yrs back had left me paralyzed chest down. I was given Magic by Shirin Merchant who trained him to be my assist dog. Magic, my Magical Angel, has completely changed my life around. He has made me more confident and independent. He is with me whenever I need him. Magic is not my pet dog; Magic is my friend, my companion. Since I’ve had Magic, I’ve wanted to tell the world about the joys of having a dog. Shirin gave my husband Suraj and me an opportunity to go to Valsad and educate the children about dogs and we jumped to it.

Perfect Pooches on a Mission.
Perfect Pooches: Magic (Black Labrador retriever & Assist Dog) & Laika (Bichon Frise)
Along with Sanam & Suraj Karunakar & much needed help from Kunal Kanchan.
Mission: Educate kids at RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Camp about themselves and other pooches. Spreading awareness about dogs with a practical session on obedience and other tricks a dog can learn.
Location:
Grain Dealers Association Resort at Tithal Beach (Valsad) on 3rd December, 2005. (50 teenagers, age group 14-21)
St. Josephs Convent (Valsad) on 3rd December, 2005. (2500 children, 1st to 12th Std).

Early morning before the sun rose above the cool Saturday morning, our bags were packed and we were ready to leave for Valsad. Magic & Laika were very excited as they sensed from their packed bowls and dog food that they were headed for a weekend of activity and loads of fun.
The journey was great with a stopover at a local tea shop for breakfast where the duo had a chance to slurp up some water and relieve themselves.
We reached Valsad at 9am and were welcomed by Mr. Desai from the Rotary Club. He had very kindly arranged for all our traveling as well as stay at his spacious apartment.

The children at the St. Josephs Convent were eagerly awaiting our arrival at 9.30am and Suraj, Kunal, Magic, Laika & I quickly freshened up ready to show them what we were all about. As soon as we reached the school and the dogs jumped out of the car, few of the kids had a glance at them and just in a few moments we heard a roar of children. When we very confidently entered the grounds we had no idea how many children were waiting for Magic & Laika to perform. To our surprise we were greeted by 2500 kids, from the primary section up to the 12th Std. Magic was overjoyed to see the grounds and all he could think of was running around and showing them all how handsome he is. There was yelling and shouting and screaming… “MAGIC, MAGIC…. LAIKAAA”. After a few minutes of total chaos, we requested the children to settle down only then would Magic show them how clever he was.

Suraj spoke on the mic to the kids about Magic. He gave Magic a few basic commands such as, Sit, down, rollover, stay and so on.. Magic did all these perfectly and the whole school clapped for him. They all wanted him to do his tricks over and over again. He was given his treats of cheese and biscuits and he looked like the happiest dog in the world. Magic loves the attention he gets and he realizes that he is the center of attraction. Magic also did a few math sums like simple additions where he barked out the answers. The children were totally amazed… How can a dog count? Was the question raised? Suraj asked them to come up and ask Magic simple additions to which one boy came up with great confidence, took the mic from Suraj’s hand and asked, “ Who was the first President of India?”. Again there was a roar of laughter amongst the children as well as their teachers. Of course, Magic didn’t know the answer to that!!

All this while, Laika was waiting patiently for her turn. After Magic had finished, Laika strutted down the grounds like a model down a ramp with the spotlight on her. Children love Laika because she’s small, sweet and cuddly. Everyone wanted to hold her and squeeze her.
We spoke to the children about how dogs should be treated with respect and not be feared. The children were also explained how they should approach a strange dog. Few of them told us about their dogs too.

This session ended at 11pm after which we were taken to the apartment for a treat of yummy home cooked Gujarati food prepared by Mr. Desai’s wife. Magic & Laika were already full with the constant treats given by the children at the school. It was nap time for all of us as we were all fagged out after our journey and session at the school. At 4pm we were awakened by a knock at the door. Tea was served. We left the apartment and reached the Resort at Tithal Beach. The Rotarians had arranged for various people to talk about different topics such as body language as well as dog awareness “Dog hamara sacha dost” which was by us.

This time the dogs were greeted by about 50 teenagers who were patiently waiting for Magic & Laika. I took over the mic while Suraj made Magic follow some basic commands once again. I then spoke to the crowd about how I got Magic, what are the things he does for me, i.e. fetching the remote when I drop it; opening cupboards etc. everyone listened very intently to what I was saying. I explained to them how a dog such as Magic can change the life of someone who is “differently-abled” such as I am. After awhile, we had a one on one session where everyone asked us questions either about their dogs or about Magic & Laika. The best part of the trip was when a few of them came up to us and said that that was the first time they had interacted with dogs, or it was the first time they touched a dog. This session at the resort was a great success too. When I was being shifted back into the car; Mr. Desais daughter approached me and said that it was because of Magic and Laika’s session that she had overcome her fear of dogs. That made the whole trip worthwhile.