By N B Hombal

Dharwad, Feb 4 (IANS): A family that owns four to five dogs and take pride in calling themselves as 'pet parents' have organised Seemanta Karya - 'baby shower ceremony' for Lucy -- their first female labrador whom they do not hesitate to call as their daughter.

"I instantly fell in love with this puppy when I first saw her in one of my acquaintances' houses and straightaway brought her home. When she got pregnant about a month ago, my father recalled that in his younger days, he had organised 'Seemanta Karya' for his pet dog... then it was a taboo then, it was well received," Prithviraj Padater told IANS.

Padater's family lives in a small village, Saunshi in Karnataka, located in the Kundgol taluk of Dharwad district, 400 km from tech hub Bengaluru.

"This gave me an idea to organise, Seemanta Karya, for our daughter Lucy (female labrador) and we did it but never thought that this will become a news," he said.

He added that Seemanta Karya can be performed only during the maiden pregnancy and the family did it.

"We performed all rituals such as making the dog wear saree, bangles and necklaces too. We also organised a feast after the ritual. Several of our nearly family members dropped in and along with our neighbours, we enjoyed it," he said.

Prithviraj only regrets that he did not capture it on video as he only clicked a few pictures of this programme as it never crossed his mind that this would ever find a place in the media, he observed.

Some pictures taken during this ceremony were posted on his WhatsApp status, and one of his friends who works with a local cable channel, showed it on TV, and that is how, the episode caught the media' attention.