County Durham Crufts champion returns to judge category she won nine years ago – The Northern Echo

A County Durham dog groomer who scooped the top prize at a coveted dog show nearly a decade ago has returned to judge the latest round of pooches.
Nine years ago, Marie Burns from Leadgate claimed the coveted ‘best in show’ rosette at Crufts with Devon her West Highland White Terrier.
Now, the 55-year-old has returned to the ‘biggest dog show in the world’ to judge in the Terrier category that she won almost a decade ago.
Then, the pair were living in Bishop Auckland, but moved to Leadgate, near Consett, after their win and opened a dog grooming school, Top Trimz, where Marie lives and works. 
“Crufts is the greatest dog show in the world,” Marie said after travelling back to the North East from the NEC in Birmingham.
(Image: Marie Burns) She was chosen to pick out the best West Highland White Terrier at the show and picked out The Dashing Devil’s Jawbreaker, owned by the Van Der Veen family. 
And the winners did not just take home the best in breed prizes from Crufts, they also took home a bespoke sash made by Marie herself.
(Image: Marie Burns) “It’s lovely to have a memento, so I made these for the winners to keep as a reminder of the day and the experience,” she said.
The green coats for the dogs are made specifically for Westies and are decked out in the signature Crufts green, something Marie got permission from the show to do, and feature the category that the dogs were winners in.
(Image: Marie Burns) Marie, who was 21 when she got her first Westie, loves living with her pooches.
Devon, now in her senior years, “is very much a family pet”, but has also parented champion Westies in both of her litters. 
The overall best in the Terrier group was a Jack Russell named Totgree’s Hannabell, owned by Mr S. Sgura. They progress to the best in show which will take place on Sunday night at 7pm and will be broadcast live on Channel Four.
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