A PORTLAND woman is celebrating after she led Team GB to gold in the Dog Agility World Championship.

Dawn Weaver and her beloved pets Breezer and Lotus headed to Holland with the rest of the UK’s dog agility finest for the annual event.

The internationally renowned agility trainer and Team GB manager, of Avalanche Road, selected the team of 11 people and 14 dogs to compete for the medals against 17 other countries.

The 50-year-old said: “This is a breakthrough year for Team GB because we have never won gold for a team event for agility.”

Dawn’s dog Breezer, who proved to be a star at Crufts two years ago, scooped a bronze medal in the Gamblers Class, which focuses on working the dog at a distance.

The UK competitors also won Team Gold and Team Bronze medals for their individual group work.

The published author travels the world entering competitions, training dogs and winning prizes. She hit the headlines in 2012 when she launched a huge campaign, involving 7,000 leaflets and 200 posters, to find her missing papillon Dancer, who sadly was never found.

Dawn currently has six dogs including Collie Cross Lotus and Bearded Collie Cross Breezer.

Her little papillon Puzzle also in the past became the only dog in the country to became agility champion.

This year’s World Championship for Dog Agility took place earlier this month and Dawn and the team are now looking forward to next year.

She added: “It’s usually the Russian team who win everything there so we really are delighted.”

She trains the dogs in her back garden where she has built an agility course which includes runs and jumps.

Dog agility is a dog sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy.

Dawn’s interest in the sport started in her early twenties and since then she has set up ‘FAB’ shows for people of all ages across the UK.