26 Your Dog March 2020“EVERY DOG
DESERVES A CHANCE”
Amanda Bell and last year’s Scruf ts
winner Percy, from Shei eld,
South Yorkshire.
“Percy was a rescue from Cyprus,”
said Amanda. “When he was found he
was nine kilos — he’s 23 kilos now. He
was basically just a day or two from
death. His kidneys were literally failing;
he’d been shot quite a few times, and
he’d been beaten.”
Amanda’s previous rescue dog, Fred,
had come from Dali Rescue in Cyprus,
and when she looked at the charity’s
social media, up popped Percy.
“They didn’t think he would survive,
and I said if he did, I’d
pay for his treatment
and take him. That was
about February 2018
and he was well enough
to come in June.”
When poor Percy
did arrive, he was a
complete nervous wreck.
“He didn’t want to
leave the house; it
probably took about
two or three months
before he’d go outbetween two homes, and is loved by
four owners — Kathleen, Jens Goessens,
Madeleine and Kjall Ottosson. “He’s
a lucky dog,” Kathleen laughed. “He gets all
the spotlight and attention when he’s in
Belgium, and he gets to be a ‘real’ dog when
he’s in Sweden!”
That momentous day at Crufts was
something of a blur. “I’ve had many people
say: ‘You didn’t cry, you were so calm!’ but
the day went so fast. I think we stopped
showing in the breed ring about 4 o’clock,
so by the time we had packed and moved
on to the arena we’d had no time to eat,
drink, or sit down. There wasn’t enough
time to get nervous! Before I knew it, I won
the Toy group, and before I even realised
what was happening, he was crowned Best
In Show! It was amazing, but you don’t
realise it in the moment itself.”
Since then Dylan has won other
prestigious shows, and his lack of ring craft
training hasn’t been an issue. “He has a big
will to please; he has a lovely construction;
everything is in the right place, and he
stands four square. There’s nothing more
needed in a Papillon,” said Kathleen. “I think
you just hold the lead, you have a good
bond with him, you speak to him — I don’t
think you need to stack him. He wasn’t
trained for it; he was born this way!”Don’t try to pet
a show dog — if you
want to get hands-on,
go to Discover Dogs!TOP TIP!
.happily. I used to have to take him
just outside the gate, and go back in
again,” said Amanda. “He was petrii ed
of going into a pub, but now he just
breezes in; he’s not bothered. You can’t
get out without him; he wants to go
everywhere!”
There are seven dogs in the house,
a mix of Pointers and Bracci Italiani.
“I show my pedigree dogs, and
I had heard of Scruf ts, so I entered my
other Cyprus rescue, Fred. He got to
the semi-i nals a couple of times. When
I got Percy, once he was coni dent
enough, I took him to a heat. I went
to one of the later heats because I’d
not had him very long and I needed to
make sure he’d be OK.”
In truth, entering Scruf ts was a fun
activity for Amanda and Percy to share,
and part of his rehabilitation. Amanda
took along another of
her dogs to reassure
Percy, and was so sure
nothing would come
of it, she was actually
on holiday for the
semi-i nals.
“My mum and dad
actually took him to the
semi-i nals. I said: ‘If he
doesn’t like it, don’t take
him in!’ but he was i ne.
And at the i nal he was
i ne. He wagged his tailCheck out which activity
is in which ring, hall,
or arena — plan your
day to get the most
from it!TOP TIP!Dylan is natural in the
show ring.Amanda shares her house with seven dogs.Amanda and Percy
receive their award
from her hero
Michael Ball.Amanda took Percy to
the Scruf ts heat as part
of his rehabilitation.Image: Grzegorz Gebik.Image: BeatMedia and the Kennel Club.22-25 YD Crufts Mar20 CS(SW)ok.indd 26 23/01/2020 10:44