Crufts Highlights!

Well I am knackered cream and crackered sitting back in Notting Hill uploading my photos and downloading hours of film footage from Crufts 2009. I had a great time and it was a fantastic show. I met the most wonderful dog people supporting all kinds of dogs both pedigrees and crossbreeds in every capacity - show, breeders, rescue, service, working, welfare, agility, dog activities - you name it! It was all about the dog and I am now dog tired.

I may need to just continue to download and get an early night tonight as I will be back at the dog house tomorrow (what I fondly call the Kennel Club offices on Clarges Street)

I have already been asked by some dog press and of course my friends and colleagues, "what have been my favourite moments at Crufts?" It's so difficult! I loved every bit but if I were to name some of the best moments for me personally they would be the following:

Friends for Life - meeting, filming and photographing all the Friends for Life 2009 nominees. I feel like I made new friends (both human and dog) and every single one of them was deserving for the Friends for Life. When Lou and Brock were chosen by the "text in to vote" during the Best in Show ceremony I was filming in the arena down in front. It was very difficult to stop my eyes from leaking during every single story being recapped on the big screen. I am very happy for Lou and Brock but also very proud to have met all the other Friends for Life nominees - Lottie and Takara,, Steve and Farley, Evie and Gem, Neil and Anya and Caroline and Harry.

Meeting all the rescues at Crufts - I spent quite a bit of time trying to meet and film as many of the dog rescues as I could this Crufts. It was great that the Kennel Club promoted breed rescue at the Kennel Club Charitable Trust stand in Hall 3. There were four featured pedigree dog rescues in the stand every day. I hope next more they make the stand even bigger and have more! It was awesome. I met so many lovely breeders, club members and passionate doggy people determined to help re-home and communicate key points about their favourite breed. I'll be updating my website in the next week adding all the rescues websites to help spread the word.

Meeting some of the wonderful international visitors to Crufts - As some of you know I love dogs but I also love to travel. I love meeting people from all over the world and learning about their culture, their food, their way of life and especially about their dogs! I met this wonderful family that travelled all the way from Bologna Italy with their Bolognese to participate in Crufts. They managed to place in the end for their breed as well! These two ladies were so sweet and although they didn't speak a word of English (except Crufts and pronouncing the NEC as the "neck") I felt like I made some new friends in Italy (through the kind help of their son Omar who translated for me!). I interviewed them after their showing and wins but sadly my camera crew encountered a technical difficulty (i.e. someone walking over the mic cord and disconnecting the audio) and I was beyond gutted that the one interview I was so looking forward to editing together the other night was not audible. It was one of those things and I had to get over it quickly as there was much more work to do at Crufts - people to meet, dogs to interview ... I did speak to the ladies before they left the "neck" and they have invited me to visit them and their dogs in Italy to re-do the interview in person with an offer to eat a real bowl of bolognese as well!
So you see things do work out in the end if you just let go.

Lastly I was one of the lucky few to really be behind the behind scenes at Crufts (well after getting about three different color passes and creditentials to add to my Crufts lanyard collection!) to film some footage of the dogs lining up ready to enter the ring for Best in Show. It was really magical.

Best in Show 2009
I was secretly hoping that the Vizsla was going to win but alas it was the cute little Sealyham Terrier (a well deserving vulnerable breed) that won the most coveted doggy prize in the world. I am going to paraphrase a bit as I wasn't recording the entire Best in Show ceremony but it went something like this ... It was so sweet when asked by press, "How are you going to celebrate when you get home?" the lady who won Best in Show simply replied, "I am going to just love him and love him for his entire life as he has been and will always be my pet dog ..."

Sweet!

The Dog Reporter©