Our day at the RSPCA fun day in Driffield, East Yorkshire

We had a great day today at the annual fun day organised by the RSPCA in Driffield, East Yorkshire.

We took our rescue dog Missy who is a 16 month old cross doberman bitch and her new best buddy, a 13 month old Beagle Polo who we have only had for about a month and a half. Some may know that when Polo came to us he had been poorly treated for the 1st year of his life and was returned back to his Breeder in somewhat poor condition. His poor little ears were ripped, he was underweight and clearly hadnt been walked in his life I tell you this because it makes the final part abit more special

Anyway, the fun day. Again another brilliantly organised day where I saw someone with a number 208 on so there must have been atleast 208 entrants There were 26 classes in all i think, all 50p each. These were ranging from the usual Best Conditioned, to the unusual shortest legs and longest tail lol The usual tombola's, burger van, cake stalls and the token Bouncy castle gave us all something to do in between classes. It was a £4 entry to the Fun Day for a car which was great value for the family We chose to take a pack up with sandwiches etc so instead of giving our money to an overcharging burger van, we could try and win teddies for the dogs to tear apart at the same time as helping a worthwhile charity. Incidentally we didnt win any teddies so bought them 1 each from the RSPCA stand lol

It was cold in the morning but the sun came through for the last couple of hours which was nice. The show went off without a hitch, well not one that we could see. The range of dogs there was fantastic, hundreds of them!

We entered our 2 in 6 classes each. Youve got to be in it to win it they say lol In most of the first few classes we were "shortlisted" but just never managed to make the cut lol Missy's tail was 1cm short of getting a 4th place rosette for "Longest Tail" lol

We thought we had a good chance of a top 4 with Missy in "Best Conditioned Bitch" out of the fact the judge told us in an earlier class that she hoped we entered her into the Best Conditioned because she is gorgeous However, just as judging was about to finish, Missy somehow wriggled off her lead and ran off to the other side of the field Luckily through great organising, it had a fence all of the way round so she could go exactly far, but, the class finished before we caught her lol That was Missy's chance gone lol

Then we got a great suprise. Polo was under nurished and underweight only 1 and a half months ago when we got him and we have done our absolute best to restore his faith in humans again. He gets lovely long walks, eats a healthy stable diet and we knew he was progressing but just not so fast.

My wife stepped forward with Polo for the "Most Handsome Dog" class obviously not expecting anything, and I couldnt believe my eyes to see the judge awarding Polo 1st place out of 50+ other dogs!!! along with a place in the Best Of Show at the end We were so proud! It is not in a big headed way at all! If you could have seen the little shaking wreck Polo was when he came and now how happy he is We are so happy for him that he has a nice life again and it is a good feeling

It came to the Best In Show and again to our absolute amazement he came 4th! That means he was 4th best dog out of the 200+ that was there WOW!! What an amazing little man he is

Dont worry we know that these days are just fun, like I said, we are more happy that it shows Polo has made some unbelievable progress within the short time we have had him! Although we paid for him, we still feel like we rescued him and have given him a life all dogs deserve.

That was my second ever fun day, my last one being with Missy last year. Both times I was pleasantly suprised at the lack of competition between all dog owners. Everyone appreciates that it is for fun and even if there was a crufts winner there, they still wouldnt win every class!!

I would totally recommend to anyone who has a dog going to these fun days. I know we are going to a fair few more this year. Yes it was nice to win but it was also a great day out, we were helping a great cause, our dogs were being socialised and there were some great dogs to meet and stroke Dont be put off about showing your dog either. I did it for the first time today and yes I was the one holding Missy when she got off her lead (that was the second time luckily lol) They dont make you do stupid things or run around with everyone watching like on TV. All you have to do is walk your dog in and stand in a line with the other dogs, easy peasy Also every dog is in with a chance and most importantly it helps the charities help out the less fortunate of the doggie world

Sorry to make it such a long thread and a big hand if you manage to get down so far lol. Originally I was just going to post Polo's pictures but then I decided to do a detailed thread of our day to try and convince people to go to these days because they are great fun. A big thanks to everyone who helped run the RSPCA Fun Day Driffield we had a great day

So you want the pics if you have come so far then lol Here we go -











I better add, please try and ignore the stains on the rug lol. When we bought our house we stupidly bought a white rug! It looked great for a day 2 dogs, food, mud, and anything else they can find does not = WHITE RUG/CARPET - you were warned lol

Last one is a cheeky moment I caught on camera today. I seem to be good at catching that perfect moment





Well done for making it down so far.......you now have the guts to do it yourself. Check for your nearest dog charity fun day and the worst thing that can happen is your dog escapes in the middle of a class

sounds like you had a really good day

do you still have Polo, if so where did you get him from. We have a beagle called Bailey and he looks just like Polo.

We got Polo from a breeder on the Isle Of White called Diamond Isle Beagles.

They orginally took their bitch to Dufossee for stud and Polo was one of the pups He has just turned 1 but we have only had him a month and a half, as his first owners returned him to the Breeders in somewhat poor condition

Is Bailey from Dufossee or Diamond Isle? Would love to see some pics if you have any

We are at another fun dog show tomorrow in Beverley so you never know, Missy or Polo might get a place there aswell

Well done to Polo - he deserves it.

So glad to hear your goood news about Polo he is a "Handsome" dog and deserved his award especially under the circumstances. It is great to read of s success story. Hope he goes on to have a very happy life with you and lots more wins at fun shows. I read part of this with tears in my eyes not tears of sadness but tears for such a nice result for all of you. You have every right to be proud of him and of yourselves for taking him on and doing such a good job. Hope you continue to enjoy many more fun shows. I agree with you they are a great day out and a great way of socialising your dog.

Huge congratulations, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread and the background story to Polo. Well done, sounds like a fab day out!

Congratulations and well done to Polo, he's a credit to your loving care.

Well done to ya.. sounds like a great day out... Jake is miffed that he missed a competition for shortest legs though

Congratulations and Well Done!
Sounds like you had a really good day