VISITORS to a popular annual event can hear the inspiring ‘tail’ of a rescue dog.

King Tommy, who shot to fame as a Scruffts finalist earlier this year, will be attending the Crafty Dog Show at Budmouth College on Sunday along with his owner Monique Nerman.

And it will be a reunion for the Indian Pariah pooch as his co-finalist and winner of the Best Rescue contest at Scruffts Fleur will also be attending, with her owner Wendy Morris.

King Tommy starred in a Channel 4 documentary in March, and Monique will be using the event to promote her new book – as well as enter her talented pet in a few competitions.

Monique and Tommy met seven years ago, in India. As a puppy, Tommy had boiling water thrown over him, but later lived a happy life as a free ranging dog, protecting a woman’s house in return for food. But when Monique returned to the area the next year, she found Tommy starving and ill, tied up on a chain outside a camp of nomads.

She adopted him and the pair moved to America, where Tommy became a qualified therapy dog, and they later travelled across Europe together, eventually settling in Devon.

But Monique says Tommy rescued her as much as she rescued him, and it’s this tale that inspired the book.

She said: “My sister had some serious issues, with addiction and depression, and later died, and because of that my dad killed himself. In some northern countries I find our relationship with death can be very cold. You have to go through the stages of grief to be able to move on, especially when there is an element of guilt involved.

“You always have this shadow hanging over you, thinking you didn’t do enough. So the book is about Tommy, but it is also about a girl who is struggling to come to terms with grief. And they meet at a time when they both need each other to make peace with the past.”

Monique said fondly that Tommy’s fame ‘has gone to his head’ but despite this, he still works occasionally as a therapy dog.

She added: “Because of his age, we are scaling this down a bit now.”

King Tommy will be entering the ‘most handsome dog’ category at the Crafty Dog Show, and event organiser Mary Larkin said she is looking forward to welcoming both Tommy and Fleur, along with their owners.

There are serious classes, as well as novelty, and the show is a Kennel Club registered companion dog show and a Buckham Fair qualifier.

There are also lots of family activities and displays. All money raised from the event will go to charity Canine Partners.