Hendon Jack Russell Max Offord stormed into third place in the Dogs Trust and Kennel Club annual Parliamentary Dog of the Year competition. From a field of 17 entrants, the local canine reached the podium in his first entry into the competition. The judges asked rigorous questions including what would Max do if he was Prime Minister (replace Larry the Cat at Number 10 because cats are amateur ratters compared to Jack Russells) what is the soundtrack to his life (‘Don’t stop me now’ by Queen – because he’s having a good time) and what he has done for dogs (campaigned to keep the Sunny Hill Park gazebo as it shelters dog walkers when it rains; is an active member of Lily’s Let me in campaign to allow dogs into more public places; lobbied DEFRA so that he can visit Paris with his own Pet Passport.)
The event is not just a beauty contest as it highlights the work of the Dogs Trust and also dog welfare issues including the micro-chipping and identification of dogs, responsible ownership such as cleaning up animals and ensuring they are well behaved towards others in public places.
Max’s owner Matthew, said: “As the youngest dog in the contest Max was well ahead of the field. His popularity and ability to highlight animal issues show that he is well suited to pawlitics.”
The winning dogs were:
1st Wilberforce, owned by Neil Parish (Conservative, Tiverton and Honiton)
2nd Lola, owned by Jake Berry (Conservative, Rossendale and Darwen)
3rd Max, owned by Matthew Offord (Conservative, Hendon).
Photo: Max is pictured on the podium with owner Matthew