A RESCUE dog from Cirencester who was left abandoned, pregnant and very ill as a puppy has won the hearts of judges and a place at the prestigious Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year final at next year's Crufts.

Four year-old lurcher Primrose, owned by Susan Herbert, won the Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch class of the Scruffts semi-final at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event, which took place at ExCeL London on Saturday, October 20.

Primrose and Susan are now on their way to Crufts next March where they will compete against the five other class winners.

Susan adopted rescue-dog Primrose two years ago after she was abandoned. Primrose was pregnant and very ill so Susan, who owns five other lurchers, took her on and helped her fully recover.

Though it was challenging, Susan and Primrose have taken everything in their stride and their special bond was noted during the competition.

After their Scruffts win, Susan said: “Primrose was wonderful today and has done so well.I’m absolutely thrilled for her. She has come such a long way and what she’s achieved through this is amazing. We’re very excited about the final at Crufts and I’m sure she’ll be as good as she was today. We’re delighted.”

Throughout the year, heats of the popular Scruffts contest, have taken place at events around the country in search of crossbreeds with that extra special something.

Over 1,200 dogs have taken part in the Scruffts heats this year, raising nearly £4,000 for the Kennel Club Charitable Trust and each event’s chosen charity.

Alison Sudbury, Marketing Director for sponsors James Wellbeloved said: “Huge congratulations to Primrose and Susan for winning the Prettiest Crossbreed Bitch class at Discover Dogs this weekend, making them an official Scruffts finalist. It was a tough competition but the bond between Primrose and Susan was clear to see.

"We cannot wait to welcome them at Crufts next year, and want to wish them all the best for an exciting final next March! We hope they enjoy their success from the weekend.”

Scruffts caters exclusively for crossbreed dogs, dogs whose parents are of two different breeds, or a mixture of several breeds.

The competition is run support of the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which has donated over £11m worth of grants to benefit the canine world since its inception in 1987. Its mission is to ‘make a difference for dogs’ through charitable grants and helping to fund research into canine health problems.

To find out more about Scruffts, please visit scruffts.org.uk.