Justice for Dave! Crufts fans gutted boxer not crowned Best in Show

Justice for Dave! Crufts fans are devastated after Boxer lost out to Papillon ‘Dylan the Villian’ in Best in Show – and share snaps of their own hangdog pets in solidarity

  • Dave, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, previously won the Working Best in Group title
  • The Boxer topped a fan vote early in the Channel 4 show but failed to take crown
  • A Papillon named Dylan became the first dog of the breed to win competition
  • Viewers shared snaps of their own Boxer dogs looking glum at the result 

Crufts viewers were left feeling disgruntled last night after Dave the boxer dog failed to be crowned Best in Show.

The accolade went to ‘Dylan The Villain’, a Papillon owned by Kathleen Roosens, who also won first place in the Toy group on day four of the competition.

Dave, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was a firm favourite after topping a fan poll early in the Channel 4 show.

But the six-year-old mutt didn’t even make the cut for reserve Best in Show, losing out to hound Magic Mike, a Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen.

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Dave the Boxer failed to be crowned Best in Show on the final day of Crufts last night, despite being a firm fan favourite

Dave lost out to ‘Dylan The Villain’, a papillon owned by Kathleen Roosens who also won first place in the Toy group on day four of the competition

Judge Dan Ericsson said he was ‘spoilt for choice’ when it came to choosing the winner, but his eyes were drawn to the ‘beautiful’ Papillon – the first of its breed to win the coveted title.

Furious viewers took to Twitter to share their frustration – with many uploading snaps of their own Boxer dogs who looked ‘saddened’ by the wuff justice.


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It sparked the hashtag Justice For Dave, which was trending on the social media site last night.

‘Dave was robbed,’ wrote one angry fan, while another tweeted: ‘Dave deserves better.’ 

One Crufts viewer moaned: ‘Should have been Dave. When will a “keeper” of big dogs judge the Best in Show? As soon as they said the judge keeps terriers – you ruled out the beautiful Boxer.’

Dave came top of a viewer poll introduced by host Clare Balding, which asked people to tweet which dog should win Best in Show

Many disgruntled fans took to Twitter to bemoan the result – and share pics of their Boxers who were also Team Dave

Crufts fan Carys Whitehill shared an adorable snap of her pet Boxer watching the show, captioning the pic: ‘Stupid dog show anyway’

Viewer Helen MacDonald said she and her canine pal were off for a walk ‘in disgust’ after watching the result on Channel 4

Crufts 2019 Best in Show finalists 

Dylan – Papillon (Toy) – WINNER

Mike – Basset Griffon Vendeen (Petit) – RESERVE

Luther – Irish Water Spaniel (Gundog)

Dave – Boxer (Working)

Charleen – Samoyed (Pastoral) 

Eva – Scottish Terrier (Terrier)

Bearly – Shih Tzu (Utility)

Almost 28,000 dogs competed for just seven places in the show’s finale, where each of the individual groups – Working, Gundog, Toy, Pastoral, Petit, Terrier and Utility  – were represented. 

Dylan and Kathleen, who traveled from Belgium to compete, received a cash prize of £100 and a replica of the solid silver Keddall Memorial Trophy, named after Robert Keddall who was the show’s manager for 30 years.

Kathleen described Dylan as a ‘crazy butterfly’, adding: ‘When all the dogs go outside, he is the one coming in all muddy, from head to toe.’ 

But despite Dylan’s incredible achievement, it was Dave who won the hearts of Crufts fans at home. 

The hashtag Justice for Dave was trending last night as dozens of viewers took to Twitter to express their disappointment at the result

Dave’s handler Mitch Griffiths said he ‘couldn’t believe it’ when the pair won the Working Best in Group title on Friday.

‘We’ve never won the group at Crufts before – I’m completely overwhelmed,’ he admitted. ‘We bred him and he lives at home with us and his mum and dad. 

Last year Tease the Whippet, from Edinburgh, took home the Best in Show title. 

 

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