Wee dogs at Crufts

Margaret Kay

After some mega-organising we arrived in Birmingham the night before the show with four dogs in the car, Lila, Evie, Autumn and Summer. Evie, who is normally a shy wee thing, picked up the excited atmosphere at once and went into overdrive, schmoozing everyone who visited the Yorkshire Terrier stand.

Mid-morrning we were taken out with the film crew to talk about Yorkies and what I love about the breed, then it was over to the dogs. They were filmed walking alongside me on the lead with the cameraman holding the camera down at Yorkie level then running loose, and they really ‘played to the gallery’. A DVD will be produced, either to be viewed online at the Kennel Club or sent out to anyone interested in owning a Yorkie. No prizes for guessing what my friends will be getting for Christmas this year! For a bit of retail therapy among the dozens of stalls, I pushed the Yorkies around the halls in a dog buggy, (courtesy of ARCAS) so they were again the centre of attention and much photographed.

A really nice thing about the Show is the huge number of Assistance Dogs, including Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs and dogs who help people with physical disabilities. This year there were a considerable number of Medical Alert Dogs, trained to detect medical conditions such as hypoglycaemic attacks or the onset of epileptic seizures. There are even dogs who are trained to detect some forms of cancer – amazing!

We had a great day, and to top it all Lila got a fourth in her class – a certificate and a HUGE rosette to take home to Fife.