Castleford pooch Eric wows judges and takes home Best in Breed at Crufts 2023

Molly Wallis, 23, and her su-paw-star Kooikerhondje, Eric, wowed the judges at the NEC Birmingham to hold off stiff competition and qualify for the Best in Group showpiece on the famous green carpet.

The annual dog show returned to the West Midlands last weekend to see which of the nation’s dogs were the pick of the litter.

Twenty-two-month-old Eric took home the highest award of Best in Breed in the Kooikerhondje category, before competing in the Best in Group showpiece.

Unfortunately, they were unable to go all the way as Orca, a Lagotto Romagnolo from Croatia, whose owners had travelled for 25 hours across Europe to participate at Crufts, clinched the overall Best in Show crown on Sunday night.

This was NHS worker Molly’s second time at Crufts with Eric, and her first big win at the prestigous event.

Eric also had the honour of representing the breed on the Kooikerhondje Discover Dogs stand.

Molly said: “"Crufts is a fantastic day out, there is so much to see and do, including plenty of trade stands to go shopping. I would certainly recommend it to fellow dog lovers.

"It is such a great achievement to be able to show at crufts as your dog needs to qualify to enter so it just shows the hard work between you and your dog has paid off.”