Handsome! Sir Duke goes from ‘kill shelter’ to Crufts
CROSSBREED DOG WHICH FACED DEATH IN ROMANIA HEADS FOR 2022 SHOW
A MIXED-BREED dog which was rescued from certain death in Romania is on his way to Crufts next year after winning the title of Most Handsome Dog.
Sir Duke was awarded that title by judges at Scruffts, a dog show for pets that are not purebreeds but which sends its top winners on to the famous show. Both events are run by The Kennel Club.
The five-year-old dog lives in Osgathorpe with his owner Clare Gallacher, who rescued him from a “kill shelter” in Romania.
Speaking of their win, Clare said: “I’m thrilled about Duke winning his heat at Scruffts.
“As a rescue from a kill shelter in Romania, I always wonder what his life was like before he came to me.
“All I can say is he’s the most wonderful, loving dog. I’m just so proud that he will be going to Crufts to represent his fellow Romanian rescues.”
He was one of two Leicestershire dogs which won prizes at Scruffts, held at the Newark Showground this month.
A 10-year-old lurcher and therapy dog, Scout, owned by Tracey Ison from Hinckley, was named winner in the Good Citizen Dog Scheme.
Both will now automatically get a place in the semi-final stages at Crufts when it takes place at the NEC in Birmingham in March.
The Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year competition is open to all crossbreeds and mixed-breed dogs, of all shapes, sizes and age, as long as they are over six months old. Sir Duke and Scout, along with two other dogs from Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire which also won their heats at Scrufts, will now be up against each other at Crufts for the title of Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year.
The four heat winners will all receive goodies from James Wellbeloved, the sponsor of Scruffts.
Lucy Williams, marketing manager for James Wellbeloved, said: “Congratulations to our four brilliant semi-finalists. It was a fantastic day and we were impressed by all the entrants.”
If Sir Duke wins, he will follow in the pawprints of another Romanian dog.
The 2020 final at Crufts saw Clooney and his owners Hannah and Stephen Hayes, from Sheffield, crowned winners in the Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year awards.
Clooney was found in a bad condition, wandering the streets of Romania, before he was rescued by Sirius Animal Rescue and Evermore Dog Rescue.
After being nursed back to health, he was taken to a rehoming centre in Nottinghamshire.
Having both grown up with dogs, Stephen and Hannah were looking for a dog after moving in together and it was love at first sight when they met Clooney, who greeted them with a wagging tail.
More recently, he was ring bearer at their wedding.
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