A Laois Bernese Mountain Dog have excelled at the world-famous Crufts dog show in London recently.
Fiona Stafford-Byrne from Castletown, who competes under the kennel name Danganroe, saw two of her dogs qualify for the prestigious event.
Her seven-month-old dog Tiger Bear which was brought in from Poland qualified on the double, winning both the Irish Kennel Club event in Navan last November as well as the Belfast Championship in the Best Puppy Dog category.
While her 17-month old Honey Bear won the Best Junior Bitch at Navan.
But it was Tiger Bear who stole the show at the Crufts dog show in London on March 11.
Tiger Bear finished second in Junior Dog and was awarded reserve in puppy class.
While Fiona has been showing dogs for some time, this was her first time to compete at Crufts.
She said: “We could not be prouder of our boy. Thank you to Judge Mrs D Atherton.
“It was a great day also because of the support from Alma Mclorey and Mary Nolan.
“A special thanks to Marie and Denis Cahill for a fabulous few days.”
Originally from Wexford, she lives in Castletown with her husband Willie and two young children – and combines her time-consuming hobby with a full-time job as a cabin manager with Aer Lingus.
In all, they have five Bernese Mountain Dogs with one of their bitches, Betsy, having pups in January of this year – a litter of 11 – with Teddy.
All were later sold to good homes and Fiona remains in contact with all the owners, with some even returning to her to be minded on occasion.
Fiona, her family, and her incredible dogs subsequently were special guests in the Mountrath St Patrick’s Day parade.
Fair play to all involved!
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