A CHARISMATIC pooch from Penketh has joined an elite class of champions and has been selected for the finals of a prestigious competition.

Venya, a six-month-old Samoyed pup belonging to Val and Roly Miller, of Hall Nook, will star in the BETA Dog World Pup of the Year contest.

She won the regional heat of the top competition and will now go through to the finals in London in January.

Venya, whose official Kennel Club name is Vandreem Mivenya, beat 160 competitors to win the event and will now be up against just 30 other top dogs for the ultimate prize.

Roly says he is delighted that Venya has got this far.

"It was Venya's first competition," he said, "and we didn't expect anything, so it was great to win.

"We were up against some really big breeders while we don't breed dogs at all, so there was some tough competition."

But Roly and Val have proved they have got what it takes to take on the big names in the dog show world.

This is the second time that they have owned a champion pup. In 1984 their dog Solo was a regional winner in the same competition.

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