Article: Woof & poof

Saturday August 8, 2009

Stories by KEE HUA CHEE

When was a poodle not a poodle? When it became a dragon, leopard and panda! The sky was the limit as poodles took the form of the sun, moon and even the Eiffel Tower at the PetExpo in Bangkok.

Words failed me as I watched with increasing incredulity a parade of poodles in bizarre costumes unleashed on an unsuspecting audience at the Pet Expo at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.

At the standing-room-only show entitled Creativity with Love, the stars on stage were poodles but there were canines of every breed everywhere. Even the photographer next to me brought his Schnauzer and it was a miracle no one stepped on any paws. I heard barks, yelps, yaps and woofs but no squeals of pain so everything must have been paw-fect.

Poodles all dolled up for the dogwalk.

I live in mortal fear of stepping on doggie poo but I only saw one "accident" during my three hours there. Many owners came with prams, trolleys and special wheelers to carry their dogs. Each trolley was filled with food, drinks, toys, blankets and toilet rolls for "accidents".

"My dogs ARE my children!" said one owner of five pooches.

Said another, "My wife and I left our human babies at home with the maid to bring our dogs here. It's their day out!"

There were pet products galore and obligatory dog contests but the highlight of PetExpo Thailand 2009 was the poodle parade.

The dogshow was a catwalk success. But more confusion followed. The show was presented by Starwood Group which I mistook for Starwood Group of Hotels. It turned out to be Starwood Grooming School of Bangkok with no affiliation to room rates.

According to Ladda Mongkolchaivivat, general manager of PetExpo, "The show was created by Sathit Suratphipit from Starwood Grooming School which is certified by Thailand's Ministry of Education.

Cupid poodle. — KEE HUA CHEE

"The poodles' owners lent their dogs to Mr Sathit to be dressed and coloured. There was no contest. Every poodle was a winner!"

Said the rather corpulent Sathit, "The show also featured the 'National Dog' theme as certain countries are associated with certain breeds. This was the perfect combination between grooming, colouring and dog fashion show."

Purists may be appalled at what the pooches had to undergo to be transmuted into a dragon with coiling scales, Parisian with Eiffel Tower growing on its back and an entire leopard's head stuck next to its own. The most sensational was the Panda Poodle which brought the house down as the poodle bore a striking similarity to China's national living treasure.

"None of the dogs suffered discomfort!" declared Nop, a poodle owner.

"Their fur was sprayed with hair colour, back combed and hair conditioner applied to make the fur erect. The Eiffel Tower, sun, moon and star symbols were made of Styrofoam so they were very light.

"You must remember this was a dog show and if any of the animals suffered even a little bit, there would be big, big trouble!"

Poodle-monium!

The show started with a sexy deejay and two dancers before the music console was hastily removed as the bemused crowd began fidgeting.

First came the celestial canines with the poodles garbed as the sun, star, moon and Earth. As expected, they were decked with sunburst and crescent moon cutouts while the Earth Poodle had half a globe stuck on its rear and what looked like an erupting volcano on its head.

The show came down to earth by showing how man's best friend went into battles with their masters. Explained Sathit Suratphipit from Starwood Grooming School, "The human models wore traditional battle costumes called 'Tabengman'. The warrior dogs we showed were a local breed called 'Lan Arn' which is a v er y tough and strong dog.''

A shirtless male model carried the Leopard Poodle which hardly looked the role as a toy leopard's head was attached to the dog's neck. The Warrior Poodle also looked more defeated than victorious as the spears and arrows appeared to pierce its body.

The appearance of the National Dogs were greeted with howls of delight from the audience. The Empress Dowager of China carried a pug followed by an eunuch with a Papillon (Butterfly dog) and maid with the Panda Poodle.

More claps followed with the appearance of the Dragon Poodle with a dragon's head strapped above the dog's head and green/gold scales coiling around its body.

What is a poodle unless it is French and so a 19th century Parisian damsel strolled in clutching a black poodle with a dandy top hat and collar studded with Swarovski crystals.

The Eiffel Tower Poodle and its carrier each sported an identical replica of the most famous Paris landmark, one on the back and the other on the model's head. As a coup de grace, there was even an arc en ciel (rainbow) on the poodle's rear!

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Lifestyle: Living 8 August 2009