It took 24 hours to get from Northern Ireland to England, but Co Down Search and rescue dog Floss is ready for the spotlight at the glittering national superdog awards in London tonight.
With thousands of entries, Floss attracted huge attention for her heroics after she found a vulnerable woman who went missing from hospital in Co Down.
The voluntary SARDA IN search dog team were called in to help on the fourth day of a search for the woman and Floss with her handler Raph O'Connor found her in a field, cold, disorientated and very ill. Thanks to the speed of her discovery, the woman made a recovery and Floss has gone on many search and rescue missions afterwards.
But tonight instead of her working harness, Floss will be primped and preened as she and her family Ralph and Clair O'Connor attend the glittering awards do in central London.
Clair said: "We almost didn't come because Floss wasn't able to travel by plane but we took the overnight ferry from Belfast to Liverpool and then the train from Liverpool to London and then the tube from Euston to Charing Cross.. in all it took us nearly 24 hours to get here but we’re here and we're delighted. Floss is taking it all in her stride of course."
Now Floss is among three dogs up for the name of SuperDog : The ultimate award for a heroic dog, having shown exceptional bravery in an extraordinary situation.
She is alongside Lucy, a Cavalier King Charles who sadly passed away in December 2016, after a life spent in a puppy farm. She was rescued in 2013 aged five and weighing less than half the normal body weight for her breed.
Today Lucy’s legacy is Lucy’s Law, named in her honour which in a bid to help stop other dogs from suffering as she did. her plight shone a light on the dogs who remain hidden from view, giving them a voice and attracting a movement against vile puppy farming in the UK.
Also in the Supedog category is Max, the Springer Spaniel who helped a stranger become a friend, helped him learn to walk again and became a salve for mental health stress in tough times.
The seventh category is reserved for teams of dogs and their people: For a group, organisation or charity working to improve dogs lives.
And the last name on the list is Pen Fathington and the Nowzad team. Northern Ireland dog lovers rallied behind Pen Farthing and staff and volunteers as they faced incredible pressure in Afghanistan as Taliban rule rolled in.
The situation escalated so quickly that Pen asked for help to get the team and the animals to safety.
The Nowzad Charity was founded in 2007 by former Royal Marine, Pen Farthing and is a registered UK charity. Operating in extremely dangerous conditions, Nowzad provided veterinary care by make and female vets to the stray dog and cat population in Kabul. They have rehomed and reunited thousands of dogs with the military personnel the animals bonded with whilst on active duty in Afghanistan.
Two months on after their dramatic evacuation the staff, volunteers and dogs are safe and the team has been named a finalist in a national competition for Operation Arc.
They are named alongside The Broken Biscuits Disabled Dogs charity which was founded on a mission to not just save the lives of dogs that were considered too hard to help, but also to make a lasting difference for all perfectly imperfect pets. They work to do this by changing attitudes towards the adoption and rehabilitation of disabled animals.
They are named alongside The Southampton Children's Hospital Therapy Dogs, a team of golden retrievers providing animal assisted intervention for young patients.
The team have helped more than 10,000 children, many critically ill, bringing smiles of simple joy and a sense of normality in the paediatric wards, including all types of medical and surgical patients, cancer care, and even paediatric intensive care.
The Naturo Superdog Awards have seven categories, Superdog, Worker, Campaigner, Carer, Companion and Team with three applicants named in each.
