Celebrity Dogs (2)

Hello everyone.

This is the second in an occasional series of famous (celebrity) dogs of the past and present.

Way back in 1966 when dad was a lad - long before I was born. The Football World Cup Championship was held in London. The World Championship Football Trophy was called the "Jules Remet Trophy"  The trophy, originally named Victory, but later renamed in honour of former FIFA president Jules Rimet. The trophy was made of gold plated sterling silver and lapis lazuli and depicted Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

However the trophy was stolen during a rare stamp exhibition in London. This happened just a few short months before the 1966 FIFA World Cup competition in was scheduled to kick-off.

All was not lost, when today's Celebrity Dog Pickles (a super sleuth) came to the rescue.

The trophy was found just seven days later wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in South London, by Pickles while taking a walk with his owner David Corbett. When England won the competition and the Jules Remet Trophy, as a reward, Pickles was invited to the celebration banquet. His owner collected a £6,000 reward (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £200,000 today). The real thief was never caught.

The Brazilian team won the tournament for the third time in 1970, allowing them to keep the real trophy in perpetuity, as stipulated by Jules Rimet in 1930. It was put on display at the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro in a cabinet with a front of bullet-proof glass. In 1983, the wooden rear of the cabinet was pried open with a crowbar and the cup was stolen again. So, despite the best efforts of Pickles the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen once again and has never recovered.

So today we salute the memory of Pickles a super sleuth.

Yip Yap.

XX Poppy