GEORGE was an absolute revelation. Foursquare and fearsome looking, his head and chest were covered in scars. You wouldn’t want to meet him down a back alley, I thought.

However, as the RSPCA’s annual Fun Dog Show in Hexham got under way on Sunday, it soon became clear that George was victim, not aggressor.

He’d been rescued from a dog fighting ring in Manchester, where he was used as bait, said his owner of the past seven years, Rosemary Hill.

“When he was found, he was immobilised with wire around his legs,” she said. “He’s very gentle and doesn’t retaliate, so he couldn’t defend himself. He was only 17 kilos and in a real mess when the RSPCA got him.”

The old-time English bulldog now weighs a respectable 35k and is so placid – his character untainted by the terrible abuse he suffered – that he is a favourite with the elderly residents of Charlotte Straker in Corbridge.

Rosemary takes him in as a PAT (Pets As Therapy) dog. “The residents and staff love him!” she said.

He was duly anointed the West Northumberland Rescue Dog of the Year, a category judged by Diana Beaumont and yours truly.

Rosemary was delighted: “I hope this inspires people to think about adopting a dog like him. His sort and Staffies are generally overlooked at the rescue centres, but he’s lovely, an absolute joy.”

When Scooby, our choice for second place, was found in North Shields, he had a broken spine, shattered cheek bones and fractured ribs.

Having been called by a neighbour who reported hearing a woman screaming, the police found Scooby lying on a floor, unconscious, in his own faeces. A man was subsequently sentenced to 18 weeks in prison for the attack.

His new owner was unable to be at the show on Sunday, but the RSPCA handler who took him in the ring said: “His eye sockets were shattered and he’s blind in one eye, but it’s a miracle he survived at all.

“He’s the most lovely, gentle dog and, I’m glad to say, settled very happily with a local family.”

Meanwhile, Drew, a bouncy little thing thought to be a Maltese terrier cross and doted on by Paula and Robert Murphy, took third place. He was one of three dogs found abandoned in a basket on the side of the A69 last year.

Paula said: “He had no fur at all, so we didn’t know what he would end up looking like, and he was too frightened to go out.

“Now he loves nothing more than sitting in my arms like a teddy bear and having his belly rubbed. He’s so soft and lovable!”

While the stories of George, Scooby and Drew underline the need for the very existence of the RSPCA, there were many other categories that simply celebrated man’s, woman’s and child’s love of dogs. Tyne Green was simply teeming with happy tales and wagging tails.

There were categories for the cutest puppies, the most treasured golden oldies, the prettiest, the handsomest, the smoothest, the shaggiest and the dog the judge would most like to take home, to name but a few.

The My Best Friend category, for children under the age of 14, was a mixture of them all.

There were the twins Numpty and Moppet, who were a right pair of tykes, Schnitzel, who met his owner every afternoon off the school bus, and Toby, who patiently allowed the toddler in the house to learn to walk holding fistfuls of his fur.

I strode into the ring, solo this time, no fellow judge to share the weight of young hope. Every one of the young contestants had no doubt whatsoever – their pet was a winner. The pressure!

I grasped the nettle: third was Scout, a gorgeous springer spaniel owned by Sam Richardson. “He helps me and dad on the farm and he always makes me happy when I’m sad, he licks my face,” said Sam.

Second was Tinker Bell, owned by Savannah Banks. The little girl was there when the puppy was born and named the golden ball of fluff herself.

And first was Murphy, a three-year-old whose natural exuberance is reined in by hip dysplasia.

“He can’t do a lot of energetic activities,” said Thomas Proctor. “But I train him and try lots of different things with him. I’m an only child, so he’s like a brother to me.”

Baden, a puppy owned by Laura Kirkham, emerged as the outright champion and the reserve was Loki, a golden retriever owned by Seb Wilkins.