Stella, aged 8 months, will compete with Lily in the hope of collecting the coveted Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year 2011 title.

Stella won the Child's Best Friend at the heat held at Hearing Dogs Summer Show earlier this year, and will compete against a number of other competitors from around the country in the final. The winners of each class in the final will then try to outshine one another as they battle it out to win the overall title.

The Kennel Club Breed Rescue stand

Dogs from all walks of life will be at the event, from those that work as Pets as Therapy and assistance dogs, to Metropolitan Police dogs - all displaying their fantastic, often life saving talents.

“The event is packed full of fun displays, competitions and expert help and advice for anybody who owns or who would like to one day own a dog. This is a day out for the whole family to enjoy.”

Highlights will include the Scruffts Family Crossbreed of the Year competition, which will be judged by a soon to be announced celebrity, and the Rescue Dog agility competition. There will also be hundreds of trade stands selling products for dogs and dog lovers, and opportunities for children to try out different dog sports in the Young Kennel Club ring.

Discover Dogs, sponsored by Royal Canin, is now in its 16th year and is the biggest dog event in London, welcoming over 26,000 visitors and 3,000 dogs over the two days of the show. 

Before long the children are looking forward to the reading experience as they are going to read to their new friend, the P.A.T. dog. Throughout 2010 Pets As Therapy ran a pilot programme in Westfields Junior School in Yateley, Hampshire. The results were extremely positive.

Helping children to read and communicate. To improve the literacy skills of children by reading to a Pets As Therapy registered P.A.T. dog. Research shows that children can be nervous and stressed when reading to others in a group. However, when a P.A.T. dog enters the group the child becomes less stressed and less self conscious. 

Before long the children are looking forward to the reading experience as they are going to read to their new friend, the P.A.T. dog. Throughout 2010 Pets As Therapy ran a pilot programme in Westfields Junior School in Yateley, Hampshire. The results were extremely positive.

Pets As Therapy an the Read 2 Dogs programme is active in more than 40 schools across the country but the Kennel Club wants to see even more children benefiting.

The project will be officially launched at the Kennel Club’s Discover Dogs event, taking place on 12-13 November at Earls Court. Children, who if under 12 go free to the event, will be able to read to dogs in a dedicated reading corner. The Kennel Club will also be hosting reading days at its library based in Piccadilly, which holds the largest collection of dog literature in Europe.

Metro Bank – the dog-friendly high street bank – has proved it is top dog by winning the ‘High Street’ category this year, beating other well-known high street businesses to scoop this top award. The bank, which leads the way in its approach to welcoming dog-loving customers into its stores, received hundreds of nominations as its attitude to customers and their dogs impressed the voting public. One member of the public who nominated Metro Bank commented on its ‘refreshing way of doing business

On Saturday 12th November, Stanley, aged 3 years, will compete with Jamie in the hope of collecting the coveted Scruffts Family Crossbreed Dog of the Year 2011 title.

Stanley won the Child's Best Friend at the heat held at the Battersea Reunion earlier this year, and will compete against a number of other competitors from around the country in the final. The winners of each class in the final will then try to outshine one another as they battle it out to win the overall title.