A HAMMERSMITH dog who was left homeless and abandoned three years ago took pride of place at the world-famous Crufts show at the weekend.

Fin, a Staffordshire bull-terrier and Jack Russell cross, belongs to Blue Cross animal hospital head nurse Marion Joliffe and the pair headed to the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday to take part in the glamour event.

The hospital, in Argyle Place, offers veterinary services to pet owners on low incomes or benefits and Mrs Joliffe adopted Fin from on of the charity's adoption centres in Tiverton, Devon, when he could not even understand basic commands such as sit or stay.

He often accompanies his owner to work at the hospital and the pair have been working hard at agility classes for the past 12 months.

As a result Fin has received the Kennel Club's bronze, silver and gold Good Citizen Awards qualify for the Crufts Agility Championships.

His reward was the chance to strut his stuff in front of largest dog show in the world and crowds of thousands at the third day of the event for terriers and hounds running through tunnels and jumping over obstacles to command.

Mrs Joliffe said: "Fin and I both had a fantastic time at Crufts, it was great. He did really well on the agility course and got a rosette at the end of it. We were very proud.

"It was lovely to be able to show what great pets rescue dogs can be and how much fun you can have with them.

"Fin is having a well-deserved rest now after spending all day showing off his tricks to all the children who visited the Blue Cross stand."

Fin failed to win the Terrier competition but Mrs Joliffe said she was proud of how he did on his Crufts debut especially after some minor hiccups at similar shows.

She said: "He has been doing really well in his training. But you never can tell how he'll do on the day though. He went into a tunnel and came back out of the same end at a show last year but at least he got a laugh out of the crowd.

"Luckily he didn't do anything like that at Crufts."

Staff from the Blue Cross set up stalls for the entire four-day event to hand out advice on choosing the right pet and pet care advice.

The Hammersmith hospital is one of four the charity runs in the UK and receives no government funding.

Mrs Joliffe said: "It is a great opportunity for rescue dogs like Fin to show what they can do and even steal a bit of the limelight from the pedigree dogs.

"There are lots of homeless and unwanted dogs out there who deserve a second chance in life and have so much love to give to a new owner.

"Hopefully, this will give people an idea of how rewarding adopting a rescue dog can be and how much potential they have in the right home."

For more information about the charity visit www.bluecross.org.uk .

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