A dog racing team is set for a Scottish showdown after drawing against the only other Scots team at Crufts.
Perthshire Streamlinerz, a UK flyball league team based in the Fair City, will face rivals Killie Flyers in the first round of competition at the annual dog show.
The canine sport sees teams of dogs race in relay form, hurdling four jumps before retrieving a ball from a spring-loaded box. Each race involves four dogs but teams are allowed to have two more in reserve.
Killie and Perthshire are the only Scottish teams to have been invited to compete at the 2020 flyball event.
Perthshire took part in the 2019 event but were knocked out in the first round. Team captain Anna Hardie is hopeful of going further this year, despite having to withdraw dogs just days before the contest.
The 34-year-old, who works as a dog walker, said: “We’ve pretty much been training just as we did last year but the rules have changed and we now have to have at least one breed dog, which is a Labrador.
“We are hoping it will all go okay, but unfortunately we are down to just four dogs because we’ve had to take two out due to injuries. My collie Swift hurt her back on a walk on Tuesday so we took her out as dog safety is paramount.
“If something goes wrong on the day there won’t be anything we can do. We can’t bring in any other dogs because once the teams are registered in December you are not allowed to make changes after that, even for injuries.
“It might put us at a slight disadvantage as Swift was our fastest dog but the remaining dogs are all very fast too.
“I am a bit nervous but I am looking forward to it. It should be a good race as both teams are fairly evenly matched. It would be nice if the Scottish members of the audience cheered for both of us but I suspect there may be an east/west divide.”
Entering the main ring on Thursday will be collies Bronco, Nessie and Rascal and Labrador Lottie.
Crufts takes place at the NEC in Birmingham from March 5-8. The first day of racing will be broadcast live on the internet from 2.55pm on Thursday.
