Worthy winner Pan with her owner Georgina Orpington.

Charity's long-stay resident wins over the judges

A four-year-old husky from Kent has been crowned Battersea Dogs & Cats Home's 'Best Battersea Dog' at the charity's Annual Reunion and Fun Day on Sunday, 6 September.

Husky Pan won over the judges in the 'Best Battersea Dog' competition which took place in Battersea Park and will now become a Battersea 'ambassadog'.

She joins other worthy winners of the title who have overcome hardship and difficulty to lead happy and fulfilling lives.

Pan was re-homed two years ago following a lengthy stay at Battersea's Brands Hatch centre. Having previously been kept outside in a yard and never allowed inside, Pan arrived at the centre in a filthy condition and needed lots of help with her behaviour.

Staff at the centre knew that it would take a lot of love and patience before Pan could be settled into a new home, and this meant that she had a very long wait ahead of her (300 days), which is over 10 times longer than the average stay for a Battersea dog.

Unaware of how desperately Pan needed a home, Georgina and Ian Barnard from Orpington, Kent, saw Pan's photo on the Battersea website and knew they had to meet her.

Pan’s owner Georgina explains: “We had no idea how hard it had been for Pan and when we met her we just knew we had to rescue her. There was so much work to do – we couldn’t even leave her for ten minutes without her becoming destructive in our house because she hated being alone. I think she didn’t believe we would come back home, but with lots of patience and love she soon realised that we were her family for good.
 
"Not only has Pan now settled into her new home but she also spends her time helping others. People don’t always understand how much you can love your dog - they’re your family - and we would do anything for Pan. It has been small steps but now she’s the perfect pet. She’s even a registered Pets as Therapy dog and in our spare time we take her to schools, hospitals and care homes to meet people - she’s just brilliant. I was nearly in tears when she won Best Battersea Dog - Pan so deserves it.”

Around 10,000 animal lovers and their dogs attended the Fun Day to show their support for Battersea, including Battersea ambassador Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Commenting on the day, Dame Jacqueline said: “Battersea re-homes around 6000 animals every year to loving families, and it’s been wonderful to see so many happy and healthy rescue dogs reunite for the Annual Reunion and Fun Day in Battersea Park. I’ve really enjoyed meeting these former Battersea dogs and hearing some of their emotional stories, what they’ve overcome and how well they’re doing in their new homes. It was tough judging the classes because I wanted everyone to win, but the winners truly deserved the titles and I hope we’ll see them again next year.”

Other worthy winners on the day included 15-year-old Lolly, a Staffie from Kent, who won Golden Oldie, and Marzipan the Mongrel who won the Obedience Elimination and showed off her best tricks.