Border Collies Boomer and Corona were the toast of Westminster today after being crowned the 2018 Dogs of the Year.
The faithful friends of Labour’s Alex Norris, MP for Nottingham North, were crowned for their dogged determination at the 26th annual Westminster Dog of the Year competition, organised by the Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club.
The pair, who are aged seven and nine years old respectively, slugged it out with 11 other “paw-litical” opponents, all of whom were raising awareness of the negative effect that fireworks can have on dogs and how owners can minimise this stress for their pets.
Of his beloved pets, Norris said: “I am delighted to have won Westminster Dog of the Year with my terrific double act of Boomer and Corona.
“They’ve had such a fantastic day, meeting all the other ‘paw-litical’ candidates and I was never in any doubt that they would wag their way to victory. I am very proud that they’ve has been part of an event that promotes responsible dog ownership.”
The judging panel – Bill Lambert, senior health and welfare manager at the Kennel Club; Graeme Robertson, Dogs Trust chairman and Tracy Brabin MP, 2017 winner – spent the morning with dogs of different political persuasions and ambitions.
Leading the opposition in second place was Scarlet, a six-year-old Welsh Springer Spaniel owned by Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield. A place in the (trophy) cabinet was also awarded to Dogs Trust rescue dog Gooseberry, a 11-month-old Dachshund and Cheryl Gillan, MP for Chesham and Amersham who came in third.
In addition to first, second and third place awards, the competition also had a winner determined solely on public votes – which was Corbyn, a seven-month-old Cockerpoo owned by MP for Weaver Vale Mike Amesbury.
In keeping with the theme of this year’s competition, Dogs Trust behaviour representatives were on hand to offer advice and tips on how to help pooches through firework season.
