Cramlington’s online dog show is a paws-itive success!

Dogs First, a Cramlington-based re-homing charity, had been planning to hold their first ever dog show in June, but with the Coronavirus outbreak that is of course no longer possible.

But determined not to be defeated they have now organised an online photographic dog show which has raised hundreds of pounds towards the care of our four-legged friends.

Pat Heard, founder member of the charity explains: “As the outdoor dog show could no longer happen we decided to create an online version – and it has been an amazing success.

We have raised over £350 which will be spent looking after some of the dogs in our care. For example we have four dogs that will need neutering when the vets are able to operate and others need different types of medical intervention.

We asked for an entry of £1 per photo and some people have also given donations.

We have an independent judge, Anne Laurenson, who is a dog-crazy woman from Durham and eight classes for people to enter.

These include Me And My Dog, Gorgeous Girl, Handsome Boy, Action and Funny Photo.

I’ve been overwhelmed with the response. The assistance we can give pet-owners is probably needed more than ever at the moment. We have no cat food left but our food bank still has supplies of dog food.

People can contact us through our Dogs First Facebook page or email us at dogsfirst@yahoo.com.

We already had the rosettes and trophy for the dog show and they will still be awarded once Anne has decided her top dogs!

We will announce the results one class at a time on our Facebook page and the eight class winners will then go forward to a Best In Show round.

This is a strange time for everyone and it has been a delight to see that people have still managed to support us – and they have also raised much needed funds to help dogs in need.”

Pictured: Some of the photographic entries.