Wiltshire Dog Is Finalist In PETA’S ‘Cutest Mutt In The Uk’ Contest

For Immediate Release:
10 March 2010

Contact:
Sam Glover 020 7357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire – Just a day before the Kennel Club’s Crufts dog show begins, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is announcing the top 10 finalists out of thousands of entrants in an online competition to find the cutest mixed-breed rescue dog in the UK. The competition showcases just how beautiful, healthy and good-natured mixed-breed dogs can be, and 9-year-old Lucky from Bradford-on-Avon is a top contender for the title.

Lucky lives with Hayley Stevens, 22, who adopted him from a rescue centre in Salisbury three years ago after the death of Lucky’s elderly human “mum”. Lucky enjoys running figure-eight swirls around the coffee table, and sometimes his adoptive family stands back to allow him a mad five minutes of dancing!

“Lucky’s life was saved when Ms Stevens adopted him, and he shows his gratitude every day”, says PETA’s Poorva Joshipura. “He found a loving home, and Ms Stevens found an affectionate and loyal companion.”

PETA’s competition highlights the fact that mixed-breeds – besides being lovable individuals – don’t face the range of health problems and genetic defects that pedigree dogs often endure. As a result of being purposely bred for certain unnatural and exaggerated physical traits, pedigree dogs have high rates of epilepsy, heart disease, hip dysplasia and other health problems. PETA also points out that every time a dog is purchased from a breeder, a homeless dog loses the chance to find a loving home and must be euthanised or left to languish in an animal shelter.

The cutest mutt and two runners-up will be chosen on 31 March from votes on the popular website PETA.org.uk. These three “top dogs” will also be featured in PETA’s Animal Times magazine and will receive a selection of doggie delights.