Wacky Dog Show at the Pumphouse
ANITA KELSEY
For the past two years, the Pumphouse Café in Alexandra Park has teamed up with local charity The Sara Lee Trust to bring Hastings an alternative dog show packed with wonderfully wacky categories.
Adding a touch of pop-star glamour was a special doggy catwalk, supplied and set up by Andy Beauchamp. The runway, previously used at a Kylie Minogue concert, gave the dogs a stage to ‘strut their stuff’ and helped make the event extra special.
As well as raising much-needed funds, the event highlights the trust’s work, providing free specialised wellbeing and emotional support to people affected by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
The show also brings local dog walkers together, celebrating the community spirit that makes the Pumphouse Café such a valued meeting place. In a town as dog mad as Hastings, it’s a winning combination.
A special mention goes to local schoolboy Win Pemberton-Powell, who set up a table to draw cartoon portraits of visitors’ dogs and raise money for the trust. Win lives with ataxia telangiectasia, a rare, inherited condition, and his creativity and generosity made a wonderful contribution to the day.
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