Kottayam: A Rottweiler master’s friendly advice

Thiruvananthapuram: Prof (retd) John Philip, aka Pappachan, 69, of Puthupally in Kottayam is a passionate breeder of Rottweiler. He has 15 Rottweilers in his 1.5-acre homestead.

He vouches there is no business motive and does it as a passion and advises all pet lovers to provide correct vaccination, proper brushing and a clean kennel. If so, 99 per cent of pet diseases can be avoided.

Pappachan of Karottu Ottaplackal is closely related to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and stays half a kilometre away from the latter's home. He has imported all his prized possessions of Rottweilers from Serbia, Croatia and Germany amounting to several lakhs of rupees. Currently, he is awaiting the import licence for a Rottweiler from the world's best Rottweiler kennel at Timit-Tor in Serbia at a whopping price tag, which can be between Rs 3-4 lakh and Rs 20-22 lakh!

"If properly taken care of, Rottweiler is the best dog one can have. It needs good exercise and socialisation and depending on how one takes care of it, the Rottweiler can be either ferocious or friendly," said Pappachan who owns two acres of lush green paddy in front of his 125-year-old house.

He recalled how he almost lost 16 Rottweiler pups to vaccination which was not properly refrigerated. Three months in to their birth, the 16 puppies developed parvo virus due to vaccines not maintained in the right temperature. "For weeks, I along with our vet, Dr Raveendran of Kottayam district veterinary hospital, stayed awake all through the night giving them intravenous solution. Fortunately, I have been maintaining my Rottweilers well which enabled me to ward off all diseases," added Pappachan who gets visitors from Rottweiler lovers from all over the country.

He along with his aide allows only three to four Rottweilers to roam around a particular area at a time or else the remaining ferocious dogs would go wild.

This former athlete, who has several records in athletics to his credit, feeds his adult Rottweilers 300 gm of beef each per day along with vitamins and proteins. His homemaker wife, Susy, and three children, Anna (chartered accountant in Kottayam), Philip (engineer in Chennai) and Jacob (engineer in Kottayam), support his love towards Rottweilers.