In March I went to Crufts for the first time and it was an amazing experience. For a start it was on a scale I simply had not expected. The venue was vast; in addition to the main hall which was very smart and extremely green, there were areas where hundreds of stalls were selling everything imaginable in the canine world; even the programme was A3 size and over 120 pages. It was an event of high quality in every aspect.
The competitions were at an unbelievably high standard, especially the Agility competition where highly trained sheepdogs were running through and over obstacles with extraordinary precision and speed. It was interesting to see that certain breeds of dog seem to share characteristics: retrievers were laid back while collies seemed to be hyperactive. The dogs and their owners spend endless hours together to the point where their facial expressions and their physical stances appear to be the same. Pugs always seemed to belong to stocky owners while well built athletic men owned labradors and ridgebacks; it was easy to see who was with who. The whole show was fascinating, highly organised and very impressive.
By way of a contrast in mid-June I found myself in a sloping, muddy field in the village of Wolvercote on the outskirts of Oxford for a rather different affair. The atmosphere was one of an informal village fete; children were running free; there was no dress code or programme; it was all very informal and relaxed. However there were keenly contested competitions for many dogs to select the scruffiest of them, the one with the most appealing eyes, the best behaved and the most accomplished ball catcher! That last competition was won by a very versatile scotty who should certainly be in the England cricket team! People and dogs just drifted around meeting each other and it was a very happy occasion.
Crufts and Scrufts seem like totally different worlds for dogs and their owners but in fact the two events had many similarities. All the dog owners at both events were extremely proud of their dogs and definitely thought they were the best in show! There was hugely generous applause for all the dogs, even when they didn't get things quite right; the dogs then felt they had done well. And quite simply both occasions showed so clearly our deep love for our dogs and our wanting to celebrate them, their characters and their achievements.
