THREE large but loveable Black Russian Terriers have made the trip from their Jersey home to the world’s most prestigious dog show.
Tipping the scales at a combined weight of around 150 kilograms, River, Zeus and Dasha made the trip to Crufts via ferry and road with their owners, Omar Ali, Oksana Lynnyk and the couple’s daughter Katya Lynnyk-Ali.
River, aged five, has qualified for the annual event at the NEC in Birmingham every year since 2022, while it’s a second consecutive trip for three-year-old Zeus.
The newest addition to the family is Dasha, who Ms Lynnyk acquired from her native Ukraine and brought to Jersey in January at the age of four months.
“We weren’t planning on getting another one, but I saw a picture of Dasha – she had been bred in Russian-controlled territory by a breeder I had been in contact with before and it was hard to resist,” she said.
Dasha was recorded at 35kg when she was last weighed, while the older dogs – River is female, Zeus male – both weigh in at 57kg.
While the older pair will be shown in both the “open” and “good citizen” categories of the working dogs section of Crufts tomorrow, Miss Lynnyk-Ali (18) has qualified for the Young Kennel Club’s event for handlers and Dasha – too young to have had the chance to qualify – will be part of “Discover Dogs”, where aspiring owners can meet different breeds.
The family, who have lived in Jersey since 2019, made the journey from their home in St Aubin via the overnight boat to Portsmouth on Monday before arriving in Birmingham yesterday.
Ms Lynnyk said the build-up to departure had been busy, with a six-hour grooming session for Zeus on Sunday and a slightly shorter stint with the more compliant River – “she loves being groomed” – the following day.
An A-level student at Jersey College for Girls, Miss Lynnyk-Ali has been given dispensation to take time away from school but will carry on her studies remotely during the trip.
