Wags to Riches - two Dunboyne pound rescues win at Crufts

Honey-ec

This made my morning

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150741172747474.466033.270131087473&type=3

2/03/2012: Two Irish dogs who had been just days away from being put tosleep at a pound are today celebrating a new life after scooping plaudits
at the Crufts Show over the weekend.


You can watch Winnie (showname Hairy Havoc) shimmy through chutes, climb
see-saws and glide faultessly over jumps in this video from the official
Crufts page on YouTube http://bit.ly/yctVOK (Winnie’s time trial begins at
4:40) and Gertie (showname Lust for Life) face similar obstacles in this
video http://bit.ly/zf4E65 (at 9:46).

In a heart-warming tale of ‘wags to riches’, Gertie and Winnie avoided
death row at Dunboyne Pound after being rescued by charity group A Dog’s
Life to claim prestigious prizes at the largest dog show in the world.

Winnie, a gorgeous grey-haired lurcher who had been found as a stray,
scooped second prize in the tough ABC Dog Agility Competition, while cute
collie cross Gertie came in fourth in the Young Kennel Club Agility
Competition.

Irish rescue dog Winnie lived up to her name and impressed the judges
during her time trial as she wove through, over and around difficult
obstacles with the guidance of devoted owner Julie Rumsey, earning her
second prize.

In 2008, Winnie (then named Heidi) was picked up as a stray by a dog warden
and faced certain death at Dunboyne Pound, Co. Meath (South Dublin County
Council’s pound) before being rescued by volunteer-run A Dog’s Life. The
non-profit group relies on fundraisers and donations from the public. It
has a very active presence on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/adogslife.ie,
where photos of dogs facing imminent death in the pound are shared in the
hope that they can be rescued or reclaimed.

The dedicated animal lovers at A Dog’s Life found Winnie a rescue space at
PuppyRescue in Kilkenny. Winnie was then adopted by Julie Rumsey and her
family in York, England, through Mills Rescue.

Julie and her family also adopted Irish Crufts competitor Gertie, who was
born in Dunboyne Pound a few days after her mother arrived there as a stray
in 2007. She's a real example of survival. A dog who makes it out of the
pound is already lucky, but one who is born in the pound, survies, gets
rescued, adopted and then goes all the way to Crufts is a real star!

Talented Gertie certainly suits her showname, Lust for Life. Handled by
Leah Rumsey (17), she competed in the Young Kennel Club Agility Competition
at Crufts and placed an impressive fourth. You can see her in action in
this YouTube video on the official Crufts page (at 9:46)
http://bit.ly/zf4E65

Anne Rogers, Chairperson of A Dog’s Life, says: “All dogs deserve a second
chance just as Winnie and Gertie did. Every day abandoned and unwanted dogs
are brought to pounds, where they face certain death unless they are adopted
or taken in by a rescue organisation which deals with the pound. If you’re
ready to give a home to a dog, please help save a dog’s life by adopting
from your local pound.”

Winnie


Gertie

fits

Brilliant. Thanks for posting

anniehoo

Great story. The charity are chuffed with themselves and have been posting links all morning on facebook to various different articles they've been quoted in. Am delighted they're getting so much coverage, they're an amazing rescue and really deserve this brilliantly positive publicity.

Honey-ec

I do a lot of work with ADL and a nicer, more committed bunch of people you couldn't meet. I'm absolutely chuffed for them, they're getting so much coverage out of this.