On the last Sunday in June, as usual, we held our annual Dogs Day Out at Lower
Withington Village Hall in Cheshire. It’s always a joy to see those people and dogs
who attend each year, along with those who are joining us for the first time.
The event is only made possible with the support of a lot of volunteers, and we are truly grateful to everyone who offered to help in any way and/or donated prizes – as well as those who came along to support the event on the day.
What the weather is going to do is always a bit of a worry and those who arrive early to set up everything up invariably get rained on, to some degree or other! However, it turned out to be a lovely afternoon – sunny, but not too hot for either humans or canines.
There seemed to be even more entries in the Dog Show classes this year. Waggiest Tail was again the most popular, closely followed by Fabulous Fella and Best Veteran. Thank you to John and Heather for expertly coping with registering all the entries, and to Jennie who then had the unenviable task of judging the winners from what were all such fabulous dogs!
These are the results of each class:
The event is only made possible with the support of a lot of volunteers, and we are truly grateful to everyone who offered to help in any way and/or donated prizes – as well as those who came along to support the event on the day.
What the weather is going to do is always a bit of a worry and those who arrive early to set up everything up invariably get rained on, to some degree or other! However, it turned out to be a lovely afternoon – sunny, but not too hot for either humans or canines.
There seemed to be even more entries in the Dog Show classes this year. Waggiest Tail was again the most popular, closely followed by Fabulous Fella and Best Veteran. Thank you to John and Heather for expertly coping with registering all the entries, and to Jennie who then had the unenviable task of judging the winners from what were all such fabulous dogs!
These are the results of each class:
| Class | 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Loveliest Lady | Bonnie Beardshaw | Jess Sutcliffe | Bisto Coward | Breeze Tuohy |
| 2 - Fabulous Fella | Ozzy Healy | Floyd Parry | Murphy Tuohy | Milo Harwood |
| 3 - Waggiest Tail | Daisy Jones | Bridie Gibson | Cedric Benson | Floyd Parry |
| 4 - Best Veteran | Fen Johnson | Tara Rothwell | Billy Maguire | Boo Gibson |
| 5 - Best 6 Legs | Mitzie/ Brindley | Tia/ Griffiths | Grayce/ Newport | Tara/ Rothwell |
| 6 - Best Paw Shaker | Murphy Tuohy | Diesel & Harris Wignall | Max Park | Billy & Buster Maguire |
| 7 - Best NWESSR Dog | Gus Abbott | Reuben Querelle | Phoebe Needham | Tucker Upton |
| 8 - Best Rescue | Tia Griffiths | Flora Davenhill | Ted Lewis | Alfie Gregory |
This year, during the short break between the Dog Show classes, The Charlie
Roebuck Trophy was awarded to Milo Harwood, and The Hoover Cup (a new award
in memory of well-known NWESSR dog Hoover, and which replaces The Philip
Green Shield) was presented to Ozzy Leighton-Williamson.
The have-a-go activities were as popular as ever, and a big thank you goes (in no particular order) to Sue, Rhiannon, Kaitlyn, Shona, Charlene, Janet, Nicki, Becky and Wendy for running the Dog Show Jumping, Fastest Recall, Gun Dog Scurry and Dog Agility throughout the afternoon!
Here are the Champions and their times:
The have-a-go activities were as popular as ever, and a big thank you goes (in no particular order) to Sue, Rhiannon, Kaitlyn, Shona, Charlene, Janet, Nicki, Becky and Wendy for running the Dog Show Jumping, Fastest Recall, Gun Dog Scurry and Dog Agility throughout the afternoon!
Here are the Champions and their times:
| Activity | Winner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Dog Show Jumping Champion | Cedric Benson | 34:00 |
| Dog Show Jumping Veteran | Fen Johnson | 40:41 |
| Fastest Recall Champion | Gus Abbott | 2:94 |
| Fastest Recall Veteran | Brodie Smith | 3:03 |
| Gun Dog Scurry Champion | Freddie Smyth | 14:82 |
| Gun Dog Scurry Veteran | Buster Cross | 22:28 |
Thank you to Sarah and Fiona who were kept busy again in the café in the Village
Hall, serving up wonderful homemade cakes and drinks. Thank you also to
everyone who brought cakes for us to sell in the café. Pizza Principles came along
again and supported NWESSR by making a donation for each delicious pizza they
sold on the day.
Many thanks again to Karon, with support from Sheila, for running the tombola, to Pauline and Irene for selling the raffle tickets, and to Bill, Elaine and Deborah for running the NWESSR stand. Thank you too to Mel for selling her fantastic cards and donating the proceeds to NWESSR!
This year Chris did a grand job of making the announcements throughout the day, and Janet, our loyal photographer, once again caught lots of happy and humorous moments during the event. The photos can all be viewed below.
A huge ‘thank you’ from me to all the early morning crew (you know who you are!) who arrived to help set everything up, including Sara for helping to mark out the field – and to those stayed to pack it all away again at the end of the day. Thanks to Karen and Andy, who once again directed everyone through the entrance gate and ensured they were safely parked, but who also helped to load the van the previous day and unload it after the event.
It’s almost impossible to mention everyone personally, but NWESSR is extremely grateful to ALL the volunteers who helped in any way with the event.
As usual, all the proceeds from the day will help us to continue our work, so thank you once again for your support.
Dogs Day Out next year will be on Sunday, 28th June 2026, when we hope you’ll join us again for another great event!
Julie Hesmondhalgh (NWESSR Trustee & Fundraising Co-ordinator)
Many thanks again to Karon, with support from Sheila, for running the tombola, to Pauline and Irene for selling the raffle tickets, and to Bill, Elaine and Deborah for running the NWESSR stand. Thank you too to Mel for selling her fantastic cards and donating the proceeds to NWESSR!
This year Chris did a grand job of making the announcements throughout the day, and Janet, our loyal photographer, once again caught lots of happy and humorous moments during the event. The photos can all be viewed below.
A huge ‘thank you’ from me to all the early morning crew (you know who you are!) who arrived to help set everything up, including Sara for helping to mark out the field – and to those stayed to pack it all away again at the end of the day. Thanks to Karen and Andy, who once again directed everyone through the entrance gate and ensured they were safely parked, but who also helped to load the van the previous day and unload it after the event.
It’s almost impossible to mention everyone personally, but NWESSR is extremely grateful to ALL the volunteers who helped in any way with the event.
As usual, all the proceeds from the day will help us to continue our work, so thank you once again for your support.
Dogs Day Out next year will be on Sunday, 28th June 2026, when we hope you’ll join us again for another great event!
Julie Hesmondhalgh (NWESSR Trustee & Fundraising Co-ordinator)
