Harvey’s the best on show

Mixed breeds, like Harvey (pictured), are welcomed to take part alongside pedigree pooches in a dog rescue charity’s annual show this coming Saturday, August 18, at Rollo Park, Dunning.

The Perthshire Abandoned Dogs Society (PADS) prides itself in running the county’s most inclusive dog show, where all mixtures and breeds compete with one another for prizes.

The PADS show is open for registration at 11am on Saturday and competitions start at 1pm.

When Harvey arrived at PADS to be cared for until he found a new home, staff were convinced that he was a Husky-Staffie cross.

However, when Harvey found a wonderful new home with Blairgowrie couple Stephen Robertson and Rachel Watson, they decided to have his DNA investigated and it turned out that Harvey was 50 per cent American Bulldog, 37.5 per cent Staffie and 12.5 per cent Bull Mastiff.

PADS’assistant manager Jo High said:“He had a fluffy tuft under his chin and a broad cheery face and looked like a mix of the two breeds.

“He’s a tough looking guy, but is really just a big soft affectionate lump who loves to play and have his tum tickled.”

The term‘crossbreed’indicates an intentional get-together of two specific breeds, while the term ‘mixed breed’tends to mean the unintentional or accidental result of a doggie liaison.

There are estimated to be around 150 million mixed breed dogs world wide.

Jo added:“Many more bizarre combinations are now emerging, such as the Puggle ( Pug and Beagle), the Bullmation ( Bulldog and Dalmation) and the Pansky (Pomeranian and Husky) - to name but a few.

“He’s got plenty of love, his bones and regular tummy tickles to keep him happy. And who knows? One day he might even be a PADS show winner?”