Gul Kirat Panag

Former Miss India…charming, lovely, witty, dimpled beauty…Gul Kirat Panag has recently made sensation with her wonderful movie ‘Dor.’ Little do people know that this lovely beauty is always accompanied with Milo, her 3-year-old Beagle. In a conversation with D&P, Gul shares her love for Milo. Excerpts. Gul Kirat Panag needs no introduction. She made Chandigarh proud in 1999 by winning the coveted Miss India crown. At this time, this head turner was studying economics at University, when she charmed Miss India judges with her wit and dimples. Who says beauty and brains do not go together!
Gul began her career with TV and also acted in ads and music videos, besides being an anchor for several TV shows. Her stint with Bollywood started with ‘Dhoop’ and since then, she has acted in quality movies like ‘Jurm’ and more recently the highly acclaimed ‘Dor.’ This is just the beginning and we are going to see a lot more of this talented beauty in the days to come.
Despite having an action packed social life, where she’s seen regularly on page 3 across the globe, Gul finds time and happiness with Milo – her Beagle! Who she says is her life!
“I was born with pets around me,” remarks Gul, “I have always lived with dogs…” in the literal sense says she! “We’ve always had more than one Labrador Retriever at home. Every day is special with dogs and I loved their company all along. I particularly remember one incident when I was just seven months old and I had a German Shepherd named Abdul. I had just learnt to crawl and I went upto him to sit on him. He looked back at me and tried to push me away, and accidentally his teeth touched my eyebrow. I still have a scar on my eyebrow!”
So how did Milo happen, we asked. “My mom is a breeder of Labradors, it was a natural choice to have one of them as my pets, however, three years back, my boyfriend Rishi gifted me a Beagle on my birthday and I fell in love with him instantly (the Beagle!).”
“Milo has become my best buddy – he holidays with us – we had even gone to Ladakh by road with him. He loved it, he’s a complete outdoor dog and I just can’t imagine being away from him,” says the charmer whose dimple cheeks adorned the Titan advertisements some time back. “I even take him along to shoots” – sure he’ll become a star soon!!!
Gul also makes it a point to take care of his personal needs, “When I am in town, all his needs, the walks and the vet visits are my look out. The best way a pet can be maintained, I believe, is that he needs personal attention,” she quips in!
When asked on what she loves in Milo – Gul feels that while all dogs are special, Beagles are a breed apart – they are much too gentle and expressive. “I love Milo’s independence,” she adds, as a distinction – “And Milo loves all of me,” she says.
“Give Milo a bone and he’ll forget me,” she says commenting on her pet’s favourite dish.
On Milo’s favourite food, Gul says that she mostly feeds him dog food as it is a balanced diet and Milo really likes it. Apart from this, he loves to eat egg and soup.
Milo seemed rather well behaved and Gul commented that he did not have any irritating habits. “Like all dogs, he loves walks,” said she, when asked of her dog’s favourite activity!
On his craziest moment which happened when they went to Auli, Gul says, “Milo was very happy to see huge open space and was running around, then he happened to see a cow and went near her, the cow kicked him and he flew 5 ft in air, since then, Milo has never gone near a cow.”
“He had a similar experience with a sheep who butted him, on this particular place. Also, I sprained my ankle and took a mule to ride and you know what, Milo sat with me and he simply loved the ride.”
And finally here’s Gul’s tip-“It is very important to understand why you are keeping a dog as he is just like a child, who needs love, food, exercise and grooming. Most importantly, he needs quality time, which should not include the feeding, grooming or exercise time. Atleast, spend half an hour everyday with your dog and bask him in your love.”