A nine-year-old retriever called Jet has beaten off competition from more than 20,000 dogs to win the Best in Show title at Crufts.
His breeder Jim Irvine said that it was the “ultimate prize”; winning Crufts, he said, was something that “always happens to someone else”.
Jet, a Flatcoated Retriever, initially won the Best Gundog category before being judged Best in Show at the NEC arena in Birmingham, where Crufts was celebrating its 120th anniversary.
Mr Irvine said: “It’s a fantastic feeling, I’m absolutely delighted to have won Best in Show. It’s just an unbelievable win, I’m just so happy.
Mr Irvine said that Jet was “a happy dog and he never lets me down, no matter which show it is”.
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Iain Ross, Jet’s owner, said: “I am over the moon. It’s a lifetime achievement.”
The Kennel Club said that about 138,000 people had come to watch a total of 21,422 dogs compete in the four-day show.
Caroline Kisko, communications director of The Kennel Club, said: “We give our congratulations to Jet, who has taken the prestigious Best in Show Award, his breeder and handler Jim Irvine, and proud owner Iain Ross. Jim and Jet were a pleasure to watch and clearly have a great relationship.”
The runner up was a two-year-old Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen called Jilly, from Wallingford, Oxfordshire - the winner of the Best Hound category.
Also in the final six were Elmo, a German Shepherd which won the pastoral group; Max, a Boxer which won the Working Group; Henry, a Wire Fox Terrier and winner of the Best Terrier category; Theo, a Standard Poodle was first in the Utility group; and Eric, a Bichon Frise which won the Toy category.