Shropshire owner's terrier takes best in class at Crufts
A partially-sighted Shropshire dog owner has been celebrating after her Cesky Terrier came the top of its class at Crufts at the weekend.
Amy Bishop, 20, from Weston Lullingfields, first got 20-month-old Bertie to aid her with her visual impairment and neurological condition.
The pair soon took up dog showing, and have gone on to claim first prize in the Cesky Terrier Postgraduate Dog class at the world’s biggest dog show.
Amy said: “Bertie is a complete companion. I sometimes to have spend quite a lot of time in bed resting because of treatment or just generally because I have got low immunity.
“And he'll sit with me, he is there in the middle of the night when I'm in pain, cuddling up to me, it's less lonely when you're in pain because I've got him keeping me company.
“He's a comedian, he'll sit there talking, you will say something and he'll bark and then you'll say something again and he'll bark, and he loves to cuddle.
“He loves to be beside you and he follows me everywhere.”
Amy said she struggled with isolation growing up after experiencing chronic migraines from the age of seven before her sight began to deteriorate at 11 years old.
She added that dog showing has opened up a new world for her and has found her have been accommodated by the showing community.
She said: “I've now made friends in dog community, I know if I ever have any issues with him, I can just call and someone's always there to give you advice.
“I'll tell the steward before I go into the ring that I've got a visual impairment and to please make the judge aware, so if I do go in the wrong direction, or I do something that's not down to the dog's fault, they'll understand.
“The community really welcomed me in, they haven't seen my visual impairment as a barrier because most people tend to.
“I now go out for a walk every day whereas before I may not have done because I was in loads of pain and I wouldn’t try. But with him, I know he's got to have exercise.
“Before when I went for a walk, people would just see my cane and talk about my vision impairment.
“Now because there's a small dog and they don't know what breed he is, the focus is on him not on my disability.”
Organisers for Crufts, run by The Kennel Club, say the event "is a unique celebration of happy, healthy dogs and of the loving relationship that they enjoy with their owners".
Crufts was held from March 9-12 at the NEC Birmingham. For further information, visit crufts.org.uk
