Best in show

Show business begins.

Evie-rose: lately me and Darcy have been practising for a local dog show up at the village hall.im entering Darcy,this is the start of our showing business,I'm sure she'll do well,Ellie said that we should get her in the show ring,and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

On the day of the show,me and mum got up at 6 am and washed Darcy,brushed her fur until was as shiny as a diamond in the sun and as fluffy and smooth as a feather,then I put her collar and lead on and brushed her teeth and tidied up her paws.mum told me to go and get changed into my black blazer and skinny black jeans whilst she got Darcy prepared.soon we were getting in the car and the butterflies in my tummy were going mad.i felt excited but extremely nervous too.on the way we saw many people from the camp site with their dogs and just some coming to watch on their way to the show.we passed a boy around my age (17)walking a black and white border collie with floppy ears and long-ish fur and stunning green eyes,Darcy barked excitedly at every dog we drove past and that made me and mum giggle like little kids.
We arrived at the show grounds,it was busier than I expected,people every where with dogs barking,pulling on the lead,snoozing,running around and warming up for the walk trotting and running competition,others were practising tricks.the atmosphere was amazing,perfect.a place I've always wanted to be.i was just brushing Darcy before the cost competition when a man came up to me,mum had gone to get some refreshments so I was on my own.he started asking me questions about Darcy,what breeder I got her from,what her name was,her age,her breed,if she had ever been to a proper show and all them kind of questions,I answered them nervously,something doesn't feel right here.the man was wearing a yellow t shirt and baggy jeans,he was bald and had a lip piercing and loads of tattoos.i didn't dare look at him in the eye.i told the man I had to go now as it was mine and Darcy's class now so he made his way to the ring to watch.mum was sat on the side cheering and smiling proudly at me.darcy stood still whilst she waited for the judge to examine her coat.a few other dogs fidgeted around and whined impatiently.the boy with the border collie was stood next to me,he looked up and smiled nervously,I smiled back and stroked Darcy to take away the awkwardness.soon the judge reached me and Darcy and he checked through her fur,stroked it,examined her from a distance and then ruffled her ears with a smile on his face as he filled in his clip board,all the time,the bald man with the yellow t-shirt and baggy jeans was watching Darcy,not once did he take his eyes off her.at first I tried to ignore him,but as he continued to stare at her,i began to worry.i shouldn't of given him that information about her,God knows what he will do with that! The judge began to walk upto the front of the ring to decide the winner.i was against a good competition,many other beautiful dogs were stood in the ring,I hope I stood a chance.my favourites were the border collie that the boy was holding and a gleaming red setter who's sleek red fur shone in the sun,it was in extremely good condition and The owners live in the camping site down the road from me.
The results were decided,the judge came walking in my direction,I thought he was going to the border collie but he handed me the ribbon.first place!! I was bursting with pride,mum was standing up and cheering,the red setter came 2nd and a silver husky came 3rd.the man was watching Darcy as I trotted her around the ring with the other winners and then out of the arena,I ran to mum and she was really proud of both me and Darcy,the man hung around looking at Darcy as me and mum got her prepared for the agility course,this wasn't a real competition.it was for a bit of fun really,loads of other dogs were joining in,from tiny jack Russell puppies to huge Great Danes lolloping about on the grass.after standing in the que,It was finally my go.i saw the man watching from the side of the ring,watching every step she took,watching every jump and obstacle she tackled.i tried to ignore him.after all he may just be watching the agility classes anyway.darcy did well on the course,she didn't get distracted and dealt with all the obstacles as if she was an expert.i was beginning to enjoy myself,but my happiness was torn apart when I saw the man again,staring greedily at Darcy with big beady eyes,that's when me and mum made a move,we took Darcy home as it was getting towards the end of the show.but we didn't expect what we found when we got home,not at all.