The overall winner of the 2011 BIG Match Show, the charity dog show held at Kristiine Sports Hall in Tallinn on 16 October, was a real little mongrel – Neero, belonging to Oksana Gorilikova.
According to the judges, the four dogs that made it to the final round represented one of the strongest quartets in years. Neero, who was crowned the overall winner, stood out for the close contact he shared with his owner and his high level of training. The judges said he was clearly a very sociable dog with a good temperament. He was also said to have an ideal body weight and shape and to move gracefully for his size.
A total of 135 dogs were entered in this year’s show. Both pure-bred and mixed-breed dogs took part in different categories according to their age and size – puppies, adults and seniors of above or below knee height. The judging panel (which comprised Margit Siigur from the Golden Amulette kennel for boxers, Urve Tipp from the Royal Fantasy kennel for cavalier King Charles spaniels and Viljar Krohv from the Occhilupo kennel for Siberian huskies) evaluated both the appearance and behaviour of the dogs entered in the competition.
All of the money raised from this year’s BIG Match Show is being donated to Pärnu Animal Shelter, where it will be used to improve the living conditions of the four-legged residents. The funds raised at last year’s show were donated to Tallinn Animal Shelter. In previous years the proceeds from the show have been donated to shelters in Valga, Viljandi, Rakvere, Kohtla-Järve, Pärnu, Tartu, Võru and Haapsalu.
The BIG Match Show, which has now been running for seven years, is Estonia’s biggest annual charity dog show. It aims to draw people’s attention to the problem of stray dogs and other animals and possible solutions to this problem, as well as to support animal shelters throughout the country. The event is organised by BIGBANK AS in cooperation with the Association of Estonian Dog Owners. This year’s BIG Match Show took place in all three Baltic States – not just in Estonia, but for the third time in Latvia and the second time in Lithuania.
For further information and comments please contact:
Aire-Piret Pärn
Member of the Management Board
Association of Estonian Dog Owners
Mobile: +372 5555 5138
E-mail: airepiret@koertekoda.net
Website: www.koertekoda.ee
Kristi Berggren
BIG Match Show project manager
BIGBANK AS
Mobile: + 372 5301 8050
E-mail: kristi.berggren@bigbank.ee
Website: www.bigbank.ee
