A rescue dog from Milton Keynes who was passed through multiple homes and deemed ‘naughty and neurotic’, but has gone on to become a life-saving medical detection dog, has been announced as a finalist in the prestigious Kennel Club Hero Dog Award.
Launching the world’s biggest celebration of dogs, Crufts, today (Wednesday 22 February), The Kennel Club and broadcaster Kay Burley announced the five hero dogs that will compete in the public vote for the award, with the winner being announced at Crufts 2023.
10-year-old Asher, who has been named as finalist in the Rescue Dog Hero category of The Kennel Club award, was taken on by the Medical Detection Dogs charity as a rescue, having been re-homed multiple times by the age of three.
He was deemed ‘naughty’ and ‘neurotic’, but it was soon realised he just needed to be busy. Asher happily found a home, and a life-saving job, with Dr Claire Guest, founder of Medical Detection Dogs based in Milton Keynes, which uses the amazing power of the dog’s nose to detect human diseases.
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Asher is now one of the most experienced members of the Bio Detection team at the organisation – which is helping scientists and medics develop faster and cheaper ways to detect diseases – and has played a huge part in helping to prove that dogs can detect the odour of disease and be a fast, accurate and non-invasive method of diagnosis for some of the world's biggest killers, including Parkinson’s disease, malaria and Covid-19.
The annual Kennel Club Hero Dog Award celebrates the unique relationships people have with their dogs and the important role man’s best friend plays throughout our lives and in society. Judges from The Kennel Club, the UK’s largest dog welfare organisation, selected the five inspiring finalists to go forward for the public vote. The winner will be announced on Sunday, March 12.
The public can now watch each of the finalist’s stories, including Asher’s, in specially-made videos, and vote for their Hero Dog 2023, until 4pm on Sunday 12 March, by visiting crufts.org.uk/herodogaward
