A RESCUE dog from Portishead has made it through to the finals of the nation’s favourite crossbreed canine competition for the second time.

Despite a rough start in life, mongrel Dylan was crowned overall champion of Scruffts dog show at Earl’s Court in 2006 and now, five years on, he will be returning to the capital, in the Golden Oldie’s section.

On February 27, the 11-year-old pet came first in the regional heat held at Westonbirt Arboretum, sending him through to the final in November.

His owner Mandy Blake who runs Best Behaved Dog Training School said: “I’ve been doing some research and can’t find news of any other dog returning as a Golden Oldie, so it could be a record. We are all over the moon at his success.”

Dylan was rescued as a puppy by the National Canine Defence League who found he was suffering from several medical problems. Mandy adopted him at 19 weeks and a year-long battle commenced that eventually saw Dylan return to full health.