Life as a Demo Dog

Been doing a fair number of demos lately, no cash or kibble involved … purely for charity and on voluntary basis (well, my owners volunteer on my behalf anyway), mostly to entertain orphans, senior citizens and the general public. Last month, we attended a Charity Fair to raise funds for Tiratana Homes and here’s what we got up to:


We dressed up in the finest outfits (clothes sponsored by Pet Fashion)
– thank goodness the clothes were sponsored as there was a massive downpour the night before, turning the fairgrounds into a minefield of sludge and mire. My type of field, immediately dived n rolled in the mud patches, n before my owners could say ‘No’, I had a new contrasting coat – white on the top and black from my chest downwards. For that, I had to take an early shower at the nearest available tap as my owners weren’t about to let me perform looking like a tapir.

By the time we were finished, our outfits were hardly recognizable and I pitied the sponsors who had to get them cleaned again.

We performed tricks n fancy movesWe entertained the publicWe had a go at agilityWe attempted OB heeling patternsWe posed for the paparazzi – yeah, think this photographer got a little carried away by asking us to pose with our best sides … funny guy.

Always look forward to such events as it means that I get to go to new places and sniff out the premises. Last weekend was a real treat and a first for the dog community as the Dog Squad took up the invitation to Maha Vihara temple grounds in Brickfields for a show.

Rare opportunity to visit a place of worship and even rarer for dogs to perform in a multi-racial community event for senior citizens and special children from various homes ... which also meant that we had to be at our best behavior. Not so keen on this part coz it means having to put on our OB hats and pretending to be well drilled OB dogs.

The huge temple grounds comprise of a complex of multi-purpose and prayer halls. We got to perform in a large hall on a proper stage with shiny wood flooring … impressive set up. However, the smooth varnished flooring proved somewhat slippery, and Cami and I struggled to get any grip when attempting jumps and more demanding moves, so we held back on the acrobatic moves. I slipped n slid a lot and would have done better if I had my skates on instead. Still, the large audience was very appreciative of our team’s efforts on stage.
After the performance, we then gathered outside for a group stay and photo session in front of an impressive white temple. Looking like well trained OB dogs, we attracted a lot of attention from the public, Sunday school kids and even the monks. Many were impressed that the bunch of us could remain mostly calm, composed and quiet whilst in the temple grounds. Perhaps we could sense that we were under scrutiny and being watched by a higher being.

We then proceeded to exercise out PR skills in public ... Bank the GR shook hands and gave hugs to the ladies. I continued to play ball with the kids. Most people just wanted to pet, carry or play with my mates and they were more then willing to oblige. The elderly folks seemed the happiest and spent a lot of time petting, brushing and shaking hands with us.

The Dog Squad also achieved a number of firsts at these events, most notably:
- Debut performances for Shadow n Kimi (JRTs) in jumpers agility, Happy (Lab) n Russell (JRT) in tricks,
- Pacco performing a complete routine of tricks plus agility run,
- OB drill team of Bank, Sissy n I performing our very first team heeling pattern exercise,
- Dog Squad being invited into temple grounds to perform for a multi-racial audience.Life as a demo dog isn't easy, but

I get to go places,

make new acquaintances,

and hopefully bring a smile to these faces.