Dog show

held at Imphal College in 2001

Jone performing

stunt with

his master

A dog being trained by Jotin

Dog performing cute stunts

Jotin also owns a car that strongly portrays the message of his campaign.

Dog crawling and bowing in front of the audience

Audience enjoying dog show

Kanan with his dog Jhony

Sanamatum with his dog "Q"

Jone

Jotin constructed a small statue in memory of Jone which died on October 1, 2014.

IMPHAL: A dog is human's best friend, and there are hundreds of reasons to prove it. But when humans kill their best friends for meat, it's a threat to the entire humanity. Dog's meat is quite popular in Manipur, especially during winters, and mainly local breeds are consumed. Nongmeikapam Jotin (39), a resident of Thongju part II, Imphal East district, has been running a campaign “Hui Chaba Toklase” for the last 18 years to save the indegenous breeds in the state.Jotin's quest started in 2001 when he organised a dog show at Imphal College and launched the ' Hui Chaba Toklase ' campaign that translates into 'let’s stop eating dogs and save the indiginious dogs of Manipur'.During the initial days, Jotin faced flak for his campaign. Despite all the negativity, he continued to distribute pamphlets, leaflets and organised many dog shows in several colleges requesting people to stop consumption of dog meat .Jotin witnessed the turning point of his life on February 14, 2004 when he introduced ‘Meitei Huei’ a local dog breed officially at the first ‘All Breed Dog Show Championship’ in Mapal Kangjeibung. In this show, Jotin’s pet dog Jone got the ‘best of the breed’ award and captured the support of thousands of audiences. The award made the canine popular among the locals.The victory in the show expanded Jotin's campaign’s outreach and attracted people towards his dog shows across the state during festivals like Holi, Durga Puja, Lai Harouba, etc. Out of all his campaigns, the most attractive one was Jotin’s visit to various meat shops along with Jone and his other two dogs- Laika (a mixed Tangkul Huei) and Jaffer (Tangkhul Huei).The trio used to perform cute stunts like saluting customers, crawling and bowing in front of them with a hope of changing the mindset of the customers and prevent them from killing and eating dog meat. Many a times, customers cancelled the idea of buying dog meat after seeing their gestures.Till now, Jotin has witnessed a humble 50 per cent success rate in his quest to curb the rate of dog meat consumption and influencing people to have a friendly attitude towards the canines. He also owns a car that strongly portrays the message of his campaign.”The core reason behind these campaigns is the death of my first dog Mera. My ignorance in giving it bath regularly led to high fever and it died. The tears on Mera’s eyes during its last moment still pinches my soul. After its death, I decided to adopt another dog from the mother of my first dog and I finally adopted Jone (Jone of Northeast). I had made up my mind of doing something for the well-being of dogs and to save them from this cruel practice of eating dog meat. To attain this goal, I run Jone Dog Care Center to train dogs. Also, I constructed a small statue in memory of Jone which died on October 1, 2014. I commemorate the death anniversary of Jone every year. I would never forget Jone till my last breath. Today, it might not be present in the world but it has left footprints in my heart that will surely keep us connected eternally,” said Jotin.“I have trained these dogs to build a strong bond with the owners so that these little creatures get the love they deserve for being loyal. I might not be a professional trainer but I gained success due to the efforts driven by my passion in teaching the dogs and their owners to connect with love, care and emotions. To make a good relation with your dog, first you need to understand what it seeks from you and I can say from my personal experience, they only need some quality time and love,” added Jotin.Jotin’s campaign resulted in a change of heart for many people. Jotin fondly shares an example of a man, Kanan Laishram, who used to consume dog meat but is now a dog lover and considers his pet Jhony as his best friend.”Jone Dog Care Center has completely changed my behaviour towards these creatures. Jotin trains all the dogs only on one condition - the owner should be present at the centre during the training. I personally find this condition very useful and in future, if I decide to own another dog, I can train it myself,” said Kanan.Mayengbam Sanamatum, a fellow Manipuri, echoes Kanan's feelings.“My dog ‘Q’ was very aggressive earlier and it hardly listened to me due to a weak connection between us. Jotin came as a beam of light in our lives and germinated the seed of emotions that were missing between me and Q," Sanamatum says.Jotin runs a photo studio that highlights his love towards dogs. He dedicated 18 years of his life in hope of changing the perspective of people for whom dogs only meant to satisfy their taste buds. Till now, more than 200 dogs have been trained under him.Jotin’s training method is unique from others due to some compulsory rules for dog owners, i.e. the owner should be present during the training sessions because Jotin believes that it will help in building relations more effectively. For people who don't get time to attend the training classes, Jotin has made CDs, 2 documentary movies and has penned two books to guide them.After Jone's death, Jotin's other two dogs Laika and Jaffer have become his companions in his mission. Jotin has received several awards as tokens of appreciation of his work. His only future plan is to make a platform to showcase hidden talent of local Manipuri dogs and to portray how these local dogs can be as much capable, talented and smarter as the foreign breeds.