Anyone who has a dog can easily identify with what American wildlife photographer Roger Caras once said, “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”
While there is no dearth to lifestyle television shows that revolve around dance, music and food, a series that focuses the spotlight on pets is something that cannot be missed. NDTV Good Times has kick started a fresh season of “Heavy Petting - It’s a Dog’s Life” with a new anchor, Paras Tomar.
In its previous seasons, the show has made its audiences meet pets at home, taken them into the wild, travelled all across India, gone international, featured some rare breeds and done so much more. This time around, anchor and actor Paras Tomar gets up close and personal with pooches and their families. He visits homes that have dogs as pets, spends some one on one time with them to know them better, hears their stories, catches their quirks and also chats up their parents.
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In a telephonic interaction, Paras says of the show: “This season is all about families who have more than two dogs (and have very big houses). There’s even a family that has 12 dogs! I interact with these pets and their parents and if you’re wondering how I do it, you’ve got to know that when it comes to dogs, you can never go wrong with a ball!”
Ask him what made him want to take up this project and he states: “I love anything that I can hug and I’m really biased towards big dogs. So when I was approached by the channel to do something that comes to me so naturally, I didn’t find any reason to turn it down.”
Of his experience so far, Paras says: “It’s like I’m on a holiday when I’m actually working. It’s nice to go to work without feeling like it’s a work day. Also, you can just imagine how many new pictures I can keep posting on Facebook! What makes doing this show more interesting that it isn’t only about dogs. We travel widely and encounter other animals too. There’s never a dull moment. I’m looking forward to the next season already, especially if I’m going to be around elephants and yaks!
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About the challenges that come with doing a show like this, Paras says: “If the dog doesn’t cooperate with the cameraman, we are in for trouble. You really cannot dictate terms to the pets on the sets. They’re the real celebrities who need spot boys!”
If there is some advice he could provide animal lovers, he says: “People who don’t have time for pets must not even consider having a pet. Having a pet is not much different from having a child to who you must devote your time, attention and of course, just like raising a child isn’t cheap, having a pet can be expensive.”
‘Heavy Petting – It’s a dog’s life’ airs every Saturday at 10 p.m. on NDTV Good Times.