Preserving indigenous dog breeds is a call to action for all of us, and India is now realizing the importance of protecting its own native breeds. It wasn’t always this way, and sadly, half the known Indian breeds have already vanished largely because of indifference, or a cultural disdain among upper and middle class Indians who shunned dogs as lowly lower caste owned creatures. Ironically, this was not the case among kings and noblemen who kept the native Indian breeds to hunt, but rajas, too, came to be drawn to foreign breeds brought to the country by British rulers. As writer, S Theodore Baskaran, points out in his book, The Book of Indian Dogs,  there are just 25 indigenous Indian dog breeds found today.

In this post, however, our attention turns to the German Shepherd Dog. Before India’s independence, owning one was a luxury, and only elites like Royals, Landlords or English Officers were considered privileged enough to keep a German Shepherd. The breed was registered for the first time in India in 1910 by Mr. H. Triefflich who imported his “Alsatians” (as they were known as the time) from Germany.  In 1919, Captain P. Banerjee imported a dog named “Foch,” and after Foch was registered with the Indian Kennel Association, he became the first German Shepherd ever shown on Indian soil when he appeared at the 14th championship show in Calcutta in 1921.

Today, the German Shepherd is a widely popular companion breed in India after the Labrador Retriever, but several agencies have also made us of its working talents, as well. By 2015, the Wildlife Protection Society of India had deployed fourteen German Shepherd Dogs across India in the effort to halt trafficking in illegal wildlife products. More than 100 cases of wildlife trafficking resulted in prosecutions of the illegal possession of tiger and leopard parts and skins, bear bile, rhino horn, animal traps, and more.

We support the right to own the breed of one’s choice after one does their research, but we’re equally heartened that the dog lovers of India are discovering the beauty and attributes of indigenous breeds like the Chippiparai, Jonangi, and Kombai.  We thought it worth sharing with fans of German Shepherd Dogs that the other side of the world shares their admiration of this breed.

Image: A parade of some of the GSDs used in the battle against the $19 billion-a-year wildlife smuggling trade in India.