"It's A Dog's Life" - Wizard Of Oz: Comic Relief Gala Performance

Danielle Hope wasn't the only winner of 'Over The Rainbow', there was another role to be won for a one off Gala Performance - the role of TOTO.

Dangerous Dave was the eventual winner, a Miniature Schnauzer owned by Rachel Owen, and took the starring role on the 21st April 2011 at the London Palladium.

The five finalists, and two from the final ten all keep in touch on a regular basis, becoming good friends and going out for walks and days out.

I spoke to Shelley Webster, owner of Great Dane "Strider" (remember him?) about the Gala evening:

"One of the judges from the show, Sarah Fisher has also become a good friend and we keep in touch. Sarah is married to the actor Anthony Head and has two actress daughters Emily Head (Inbetweeners) and Daisy Head (The Last Seven, Rules Of Love). Sarah is a TTouch practitioner which is a kind of massage for animals that helps with tensions, behaviour problems balance etc.

We arranged for us all to meet for a meal before the show so we did!"

Photo by Shelley Webster

"The picture above is of us all at the end of the night":

Back row (L-R) - Emily Head, Louise Dovey (Demi's mum), Shelley Webster, Daisy Head, Sarah Fisher, Anthony Head, Lucy Creek.
Front Row (L-R): Demi Shakespeare, her assistance dog is Bumble (she was one of the last 10 dogs along with Strider) Anna Drinkwater, Rachel Owen, Jackie Stevens, Lucie Martin-Armstrong

Owners and Dogs
Demi - Bumble (Labrador)
Lucy - Spider (Beagle)
Anna - Missy (Collie x)
Rachel - Dave Winner (Miniature Schnauzer)
Jackie - Troy (Pointer x retriever)
Lucie - Eddie (Pug)
Shelley - Strider (Great Dane)

A great night was had by all.