Thursday, 19th July 07

On Sunday 8th July, Hove Rugby Club played host to the fifth annual Pride Companion Dog Show. With 560 entries to the novelty, pedigree and condition classes, the day proved to be one of the most popular shows since 2003.  Run in association with Coastway Veterinary Group and Denes Natural PetCare, over 700 people attended the day which was the sunniest for many weeks. Coastway’s Tony Cowie said “the seamless teamwork of Coastway and Pride working together produced the goods on the day".

The best in show and this year was Coco the Whippet whose owner, Lisa Uba of Peacehaven, was thrilled to take first prize. The novelty classes saw many hundreds of dogs enter classes such as the Prettiest Bitch, Best Six Legs, Dog that looks most like its Owner and Best Fancy Dress.

A spokesperson for Pride in Brighton and Hove said, “The Pride Dog show has become a real fixture on our calendar, and I’m pleased that this year’s event was our most successful yet. It’s the first event in the build up to the Summer Festival and is a crucial time for us to remind people that the Pride Festival is fast approaching and we still need help to make it the kind of success that people expect. We are looking for more volunteers to help us on the day and further commercial support to meet our financial targets.”

This year’s dog show provided a platform for some of Sussex’s finest animals, often enjoying their first professional outing. The day has become a very important city event bringing together the LGBT community, regular dog show enthusiasts and rugby club members in a very friendly and fun environment.