Stolen basset hounds successful at Festival of Hunting

After a turbulent couple of months away from their kennels, two of the Westerby Basset hounds that were stolen in February have recently been successful in the show ring at the Festival of Hunting.

Westerby Drama made her debut at the East of England Showground in Peterborough a winning one when she was awarded the best unentered bitch hound in the basset hound ring on 21st July. While Lattice, another of the two and a half couple of hounds who were returned to their kennels in Leicestershire in April after a powerful social media campaign, came third in the entered bitch hound class.

After a sighting of one of the bassets, representatives from Beauty's Legacy – a voluntary group that uses social media to reunite lost and found animals – liaised with Leicestershire and Greater Manchester Police. Upon further investigation, police found two of the bassets at one address and two more at a second property, both in the Greater Manchester area, over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

Kennel huntsman Sophie Cripps was heavily involved in the search for the basset hounds after they were stolen, with "every waking hour committed to finding them." With the help of Beauty's Legacy, and the enormous power of social media – the Alliance's own Facebook post published on the morning they were taken went viral – the hounds became hot property.

"Having had time to settle them back into the kennels routine, we decided to take a couple of the bitches to compete at the Festival of Hunting," explained Sophie. "I was not sure how they would react to the show ring and a different environment, however, they showed beautifully and I was so proud of them."

"It was quite an emotional drive home when we thought back to four months ago when we were sick with worry for them, to having them bounding around the show ring at Peterborough and coming away with some silverware – it was incredibly special."

Polly Portwin, Director of the Campaign for Hunting echoed those sentiments: "Seeing the bassets relaxed and clearly relishing the showing environment is testament to all the hard work and devotion of those involved in the search, recovery and subsequent transition of the hounds back into kennel life. Hunt staff strive to maintain the highest standards of animal welfare in kennels at all times and it is great to see this dedication has, in this instance, enabled hounds that have had a traumatic experience to thrive back in their own environment."

Full results from the action in the basset hound classes at the Festival of Hunting can be seen here.