Top Dog

JUST one year after narrowly escaping a serious fire, Jasmine the dog has been given a top award by the Sussex Alsatian Rescue Centre.

Her owner, Yvonne Ilett, took Jasmine back to the rescue centre where she had been looked after, for its Christmas Dog Show, and Jasmine was awarded a good clutch of rosettes, including, of course, her first prize.

Yvonne explained: "They thought her story was so moving, they gave her first prize in the best story category."

And her story is quite remarkable.

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The four-year-old German Shepherd fell unconscious and was nearly killed in December last year, when the Rustington flat she was in caught fire.

But it was thanks to Littlehampton fire station commander Trevor Worsfold, who gave Jasmine the kiss of life, that she was able to make a full recovery.

Jasmine herself had been a rescue dog, and was adopted from the Sussex Alsation Rescue Centre, in Shoreham by Yvonne Ilett.

And the centre took Jasmine back for seven weeks after the fire, so she could recover while Yvonne found them both somewhere else to live.

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At the same time, Yvonne's husband Eric, who had been a Rustington parish councillor and was well known in the village, was seriously ill in hospital, and sadly died on Christmas Eve.

It was a difficult time for Yvonne, who had no home, and was without Jasmine. But she was determined to re-build her life, and now she and Jasmine live in a delightful flat in Littlehampton.

"Some days are better than others. Jasmine is almost back to normal, although she is a little weaker than she was before the fire. But it so good to have her with me," Yvonne added.

Sussex Alsatian Rescue Centre chairman Una Wilson said: "I think it is remarkable the way she has recovered after coming to us as a rescue dog in the first place. We had Jasmine quite some time at the centre because she didn't like anybody. But she just fell for Eric and Yvonne."

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And Yvonne wanted to pay tribute to the rescue centre "I want to say a big thank you to them for taking such good care of Jasmine. She saw the vet every week while she was in and they wouldn't accept a penny from me."

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