Hagrid the lion lookalike takes the biscuit for wolfing down sausage snacks in mid-air
HE WEIGHS 11 stone, stands nearly 3ft high and holds the official world record for catching and eating snacks.
Hagrid, a three-year-old Leonberger dog, was the star attraction at the National Pet Show at the NEC in Birmingham, which attracted nearly 10,000 visitors yesterday.
The supersize pet lives on a diet of raw chicken and turkey carcases, which he devours three at a time. He set the world record when he caught and ate 13 sausage snacks in 30 seconds.
His owners Sarah and David Woodthorpe-Evans, from Harlow, Essex, have owned Hagrid since he was seven weeks old. “We deliberately went to a breeder who breeds them quite large,” Mrs Woodthorpe-Evans said.
“What attracted me was the sheer size of the breed – and the fact that he looks like a lion.”
Hagrid’s talent for catching snacks mid-air and wolfing them down at record speed was spotted by the couple’s daughter, 16-year-old Carmen.
“She likes to feed him popcorn, which she throws at him, and she discovered he is brilliant at catching,” explained Mrs Woodthorpe-Evans. “He won’t catch anything else, though – if you throw a ball in the park you’ll have to retrieve it yourself.”
Hagrid’s other great talent is for rescuing people from water. He has been specially trained to save those in danger of drowning.
“When we go to the seaside in Cornwall, or the Lake District, he heads straight for the water and rescues unsuspecting swimmers – whether they like it or not,” Mrs WoodthorpeEvans said.
“But he is incredibly well-behaved. Wherever we go there’s always a long queue of people wanting to pet him – not least at the NEC yesterday where thousands of people came up to him at the Leonberger stand. He was a complete sensation.
“He wasn’t fazed at all, though – he loves the attention.
“If I had a pound for every time we get stopped to have his photo taken, I’d be very rich by now.” Also on show at the NEC were micro pigs, alpacas, birds of prey and reptiles.
Events included a cat care session and a rabbit showjumping competition.
Leonbergers, named after the German town of Leonberg, nearly died out during the First World War when they were used to pull ammunition carts for the Kaiser’s armies. Reportedly, only five survived.
The population recovered, until the Second World War, when they were again called into service. It is believed that every modern Leonberger – including Hagrid – can trace their ancestry back to the handful of dogs that survived the two conflicts.