SIX SCRUFFTS HEAD TO CRUFTS GRAND FINALE
Six crossbreed dogs are on their way to the world’s greatest dog show, Crufts,
to compete in the prestigious Scruffts grand finale on Friday 6th March.
Taking place in the main arena at Crufts, this year’s judges include Clarissa
Baldwin, trustee of Dog’s Trust, and Daily Express journalist, Stuart Winter.
The Scruffts Family Crossbreed of the Year competition, which is supported
by pet food makers James Wellbeloved, caters exclusively for crossbreed
dogs – dogs whose parents are of two different breeds, or a mixture of several
breeds.
The six finalists qualified for a place in the Scruffts final after winning classes
at heats around the country during 2014 and then winning at the semi-finals,
which took place at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event last November.
James Wellbeloved Marketing Manager, Anne-Laure Jaouën said: “The
Scruffts final is the highlight of my year. All of last year’s finalists were brilliant
and I can’t wait to meet the finalists for this year. It’s amazing to hear the
incredible stories that these crossbreeds have and I wish them all the very
best of luck.”
The six finalists for 2015 are:
Most Handsome Crossbreed Dog
Billy, owned by Terri-Anne Walker from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire – Billy
has saved Terri-Anne’s life on two occasions, once alerting her that her car
had smoke coming out of it and once preventing her from entering her house
because she had a gas leak.
Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch
Wizz, owned by Claire Stanton from Tattershall, Lincolnshire – Wizz arrived at
a difficult time when Claire’s family lost their two dogs to cancer within three
months of each other. Claire’s mum became depressed and Wizz came along
and brought happiness to the family again.
Golden Oldie
Gracie, owned by Alison Hitchins from Alvechurch, Worcestershire – Gracie
was found on the streets, heavily pregnant and, within a week, gave birth to
six puppies. The puppies were easily rehomed but no one seemed to want to
adopt her. Gracie has now been living with Alison for nine years and is a very
happy and healthy dog. She takes part in agility, heelwork to music, and is
also a Pets As Therapy dog and visits a local hospice every month.
Child’s Best Friend
Humphrey, owned by Miles Rodwell from Bodmin, Cornwall – Humphrey
came from the RSPCA after being rescued from a puppy farm. He was very
poorly when he joined Miles’s family aged 12 weeks. Miles and Humphrey
became best friends and Humphrey was nursed back to health. They started
going to training classes and achieved the Gold award in the Kennel Club’s
Good Citizen Dog Training Scheme (GCDS) within a year.
Best Crossbreed Rescue
Harvey, owned by Tracey Toft from Castleford, West Yorkshire – Harvey had
a difficult start in life and Tracey rescued him after seeing him advertised on a
website. He had suffered severe scalding and also had a broken leg. Harvey
now lives a happy life with Tracey and her family and is on the road to
recovery.
GCDS Crossbreed Dog
Blaze, owned by Marie Hamlin from Winchester, Hampshire - Blaze came
from an unwanted litter and went to live with Marie when he was 8 weeks old.
He stole Marie’s heart and helped her through tough times by comforting her
when she needed it the most. He gave her the confidence to leave the house
again, meet new people and to take part in charity dog shows.
Scruffts is run in support of the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which has
awarded over £8m worth of grants to benefit dogs since its inception in 1987.
The Trust awards grants to welfare organisations which make a difference to
dogs’ lives, and also provides financial support to canine scientific research
and support charities.
To find out more about Scruffts, please visit www.scruffts.org.uk. For more
information on Discover Dogs, please visit www.discoverdogs.org.uk.