Delightful Duke is now a king of Crufts after nearly being put down.
The adorable crossbred stray was about to be gassed in Romania when a charity saved him and sent him to Britain.
He found a home and a new lease of life with property landlord Clare Gallacher, 51, in Osgathorpe, Leics.
And his crowning glory came this month when he was named most handsome crossbreed at Crufts dog show.
Clare, who lives with her four dogs and three daughters, said: “I’ve never seen another dog like him. He’s a real stunner. He’s just beautiful.”
The pet lover took in Duke two years ago after he was saved from a kill shelter by Donna Pollard, of Rommi Rescue.
Clare told how her pooch would have been rounded up, alongside 30 other dogs, and gassed if she had not given him a home.
She said: “Dog catchers in Romania get paid to get dogs into the kill shelters and they keep them for so many weeks and then shoot them or gas them. It’s horrific.”
Clare thinks Duke is part Romanian shepherd and aged about five.
She said: “The only thing wrong with him was malnutrition and he had a damaged ear because when they take them to kill shelters they tag them in the ears.”
Clare added initially he was quite reactive about food as he had to fend for himself on the streets but is better now.
Duke’s win at Crufts earned him a glass trophy and a rosette.
