Forget World Cup Cricket, the deadly action is at dog shows

While sports-mad Ladysmith and the rest of  South Africa watch the highlights of the Cricket World Cup, with our own Proteas ebbing and flowing between spells of cricketing brilliance and moments of sub-par street cricket, there is an even more unpredictable sport out there that has the world talking – the seedy world of dog shows.

Annamarie Koen from the Ladysmith Animal Anti-Cruelty League expressed her horror and outrage when hearing of the goings-on at the Crufts Dog Show.

Forget about match fixing scandals, the seedy world of dog shows has evolved from displaying man’s best friend into a case of callous murder…

Last week, the Crufts Dog Show held in Birmingham, England, was rocked by a murder mystery in which one dog was killed and two others taken ill in suspected poisonings, as reported in the Daily Telegraph.

There is now a major police investigation into the goings-on at the world’s biggest dog show, run by The Kennel Club, which took place in Birmingham.

It is believed that jealous rival breeders poisoned an award-winning Irish Setter, which collapsed and died within 24 hours of competing.

The Irish Setter came second in his class for ‘Best Dog’ on Thursday, but by midnight on Friday last week, he had collapsed.

Fears about dog safety at Crufts deepened yesterday as one judge said that two other owners told her they believed their dogs had been poisoned.

It is believed the only time the Setter was left unattended during his three-day visit to the UK was when he was on the bench at Crufts.

So if you think our Proteas have it tough, think again…

“I do not know what type of person could deliberately poison a dog just to win an award,” added a shocked Annamarie.

Ladysmith is no stranger to dog poisoning, with many pet owners in Ladysmith losing their pets to criminals, as reported in the Ladysmith Gazette.