From scruffs... ...to Crufts
Race to pamper pets in time for top dog show
WITH a coat as shaggy as hers, bad hair days are an occupational hazard – especially when romping around the yard.
So, with Crufts fast approaching, it was time to get Grace the bearded collie’s bountiful barnet under control.
With her offspring Sally and Quincy also due at Birmingham NEC on Friday, that may sound like a hairy ordeal for the trio’s owner Claire Bowden, 46.
But despite each pet needing two shampoos, a blow-dry, nail-trim, groom and spray, it’s a labour of love for her at home in Horsham, West Sussex.
Ms Bowden – who runs a business called Pawsitive Canine Massage Therapy and co-owns the dogs with her mother Sue – said: ‘Before a show, you want them to look their best, so they have an all-over bath which takes about two hours each three weeks before, and then another concentrating on the feet and face a few days before.’ She added: ‘I find it anything but a chore.’
Eight-year-old Grace and four-yearold Sally and Quincy will be competing in separate categories at this year’s Crufts, which starts tomorrow.
Despite their adorable appearance, The Kennel Club has classed bearded collies as a ‘vulnerable’ breed – after annual registrations of new puppies fell to just 281 last year.