A STEEPLE ASTON dog owner and his 22-month-old German Longhaired Pointer Gretta proved every dog does have its day after walking away with a top prize at Crufts.

Gretta was one of 22,000 dogs that competed at Birmingham’s NEC this month for the annual dog show, presented by the Kennel Club, and claimed the Best of Breed award.

Handler Larry Wilks went up against a host of other dog handlers to scoop the prize in Thursday’s Gundog day.

The 63-year-old, of Hopcrofts Holt, was left beaming with pride at his and Gretta’s performance.

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He said: “What makes it extra special is that Gretta’s mother [Nancy] won best of breed last year so she is following in some great footsteps.”

Between Mr Wilks and his partner Brenda Moss, 65, the pair have owned dogs for the past 35 years and currently own nine as a mixture of German long-haired pointers and Hungarian Vizslas.

The competition ran from Thursday, March 5, to Sunday, March 8, and included categories such as gundog, working and pastoral, terrier and hound, and toy and utility.

This year’s events have since been tarred by reports of dogs being poisoned during the show.

It follows the death of an Irish setter, called Jagger, after allegedly eating poisoned beef and further reports of a spate of illnesses with several dogs.

The Kennel Club confirmed it was looking into reports that up to six dogs were poisoned.