Hello, and welcome to day two of London’s leading dog event, Discover Dogs. And what a great day it’s been. Hundreds of dogs have taken the opportunity to shine inside the show and thankfully the sun even decided to put in an occasional appearance outside too!
Thousands of dog lovers have taken advantage of the mild autumnal weather to come to Earls Court to enjoy a feast of four-legged fun including a variety of cute canine contests.
The highlight of another busy day in the Main Ring was the grand final of the nation’s favourite crossbreed competition, Scruffts. After heats up and down the country during the course of the summer, around 60 dogs took their place in the ring hoping to be chosen for the prestigious title of Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year.
The lady with the unenviable job of choosing the eventual winner was Summer Strallen, star of Hollyoaks and the West End theatre hit, The Sound of Music. The ring was alive with the sound of applause as Summer selected an 11 month old dog called Jaffa, owned by Lindsey Truss from Hainault in Essex. Lindsey is deaf and visually impaired and communicates with Jaffa using hand signals. Summer warmed to their companionship and awarded Jaffa the title of Most Handsome Dog before picking him ahead of the winners of three other keenly contested classes.
Other activity taking place in the Main Ring today included the finals of the National Junior Handling championships, handy tips from expert dog trainer Richard Curtis and some great agility, flyball and heelwork to music action. At the end of the day, well known dog behaviourist Carolyn Menteith judged the final of the Companion Dog Club competition. After a busy day judging the winners of five individual classes, Carolyn chose Indi, owned by Michelle Wood from Walsall as the overall Best Dog in the competition.
Out and about on the show stands today, actor Paul Nicholls and TV presenter Julian Bennett teamed up to promote the Kennel Club’s Open for Dogs initiative. It was a busy day for Open for Dogs as the stand also welcomed Wellard and Genghis, who are enjoying life after soap in Walford, and presented the winners of its inaugural awards for businesses which welcome canine companions alongside their owners.
And so, as darkness descends on West London this evening, thousands of dog devotees are making their way home laden with armfuls of goodies from the many trade stands at the show, having witnessed all the best that happy, healthy dogs have to offer. The challenge now is trying to work out how we can make next year’s show even big and better – but rest assured we will. Why not put November 14th and 15th November 2009 in your diary now and then come along and find out!
