THE grandson of a former champion greyhound has just made his owner very proud by taking Best of Breed at Crufts.

"It's all the more rewarding because we lost his grandfather, Champion Greysyde Christmas Cracker, with cancer," said Mrs Brenda Rowe of Northwood Green, Westbury-on-Severn.

The grandson, blue-grey Baldry Not So Smart with Bubezi – pet name Flint – came storming through, taking Best Dog in his section and then competed against Best Bitch to take Best of Breed honours.

"He behaved absolutely superbly. He was wonderful," said Mrs Rowe, who is a self-confessed greyhound enthusiast.

"He is the son of one of the daughters of the dog we lost. We sold her and the lady was not able to do much with her son so I asked if she would sell him to me, and she did.

"I began working on him and eventually we had some show successes, and after a bit more work and resting he was entered for Crufts.

"I am thrilled with his success. It's great."

Apart from losing her earlier champion Mrs Rowe suffered a setback by hurting herself badly in a fall recently.

"I thought I would never be able to show dogs again," she said. "But bit by bit I felt better and it was good to able to get on again."

She said she had also heard that dogs she had bred were doing well elsewhere, taking prizes at shows in Zagreb and in Italy.

"All in all it has been a week of good news," she said.