A CHOBHAM woman is celebrating a famous victory at Crufts after a late mishap almost wrecked her dream.

Lisa Bobrowski had entered her eight-month-old Samoyed, whose official Kennel Club name is  Vandreem Imperial Breeze Over Berezniki  but is known to his friends as Brio, in the Best Puppy in Breed category, only to break a leg in a freak accident three weeks before the big event.

“I was, and still am, completely immobile,” said Lisa. “Because Brio can be rather boisterous, I couldn’t look after him, so we had to send him back to his breeder, Andrea Kirkwood, to prepare him for Crufts.

“That wasn’t straightforward because Andrea lives in Cumbria, but we managed to find a mutual friend who drove Brio halfway and Andrea came and met them.

“Andrea did all the preparations, washing, grooming and some small amount of training, and then presented Brio at Crufts, for which she was down as Brio’s co-owner.

“I could only follow it all as best I could from the sofa with messages, photos, streaming and anything else to stay in touch.

“But it was still a fantastic moment when Brio won, especially as it all almost didn’t happen.”

The puppy category is for ages six to 12 months, so Brio has plenty more opportunities to appear at Crufts, which is held at the NEC in Birmingham.

“I called him Brio, which is a musical term for spirit, or liveliness, because that sums up his character,” Lisa said.

“Brio is my fifth Samoyed since I got my first in 1986. I love their character, that vigour and the bit of naughtiness about them.

“They do need plenty of exercise, though, and some training as they can be a bit unruly.”

Lisa is no stranger to success at Crufts. Another of her Samoyeds, Hermioni, was named Reserve Best in Show in 2008, effectively runner-up to the, literally, top dog.

For Brio, though, the triumphal homecoming will have to wait a little longer.

“He’s gone back to Cumbria for a bit because I can’t put any weight on my leg just yet. Not for too long, though, I’m hoping he’ll be back in about three weeks.”