THERE is a saying that people often look like their dogs. Champion exhibitor Christine Hart Diggines definitely does not - but as she is utterly dog mad she would not be insulted by the comparison.

She certainly shares with them the same sense of fun - but behind it is the steeliness of the competitor and the expertise born of a life-long passion for dogs.

It is this dedication that has earned Mrs Hart Diggines, aged 50, of Matthias Close, Malvern Link, one of the dog world's greatest honours.

She has been chosen by the Kennel Club to be a judge at Crufts 2007 at the NEC, Birmingham, where more than 20,000 dogs are competing for the most coveted prize of all - the best in show.

The appointment has been a life-long dream and fulfils a promise she made to her parents when she was a spirited eight-year-old, telling them unequivocally: "I will judge Crufts."

Mrs Hart Diggines has been a championship show judge for the last 20 years, so knows what to expect. She said: "If they win a lot of people cry, a lot of people jump up and give me a kiss and some are in complete shock because they think My God! They have picked my dog'.

"Everybody thinks they have got a winner and, of course, when they don't win they're throughly disappointed. You get exhibitors coming up to you and saying why don't you like my dog?' I have to say to them that I will explain that in my critique which we have to write for the dog papers. You have to be really careful what you say to them - everyone loves their dog."

She said each judge had a standard in their mind of what the perfect dog was within each breed - from coat colour and texture to length of leg, posture and personality.

She has seen plenty of tears but she has yet to witness a tantrum - although she has heard tales of people throwing down their exhibitor's card in disgust if their dog fails to win over the judge.

She was offered the chance to judge at Crufts five years ago but was sworn to secrecy, only breaking her silence on the eve of the show.

Mrs Hart Diggines will judge the Schipperkes and the best from this breed will go through to the utility group. The best of the utility group will then go into the final few to be judged for the best in show award.

She said: "It's a real honour to be asked to judge your breed at Crufts. My first thought when I first saw a Schipperke was, I can't live with that breed of dog', and now I can't live without them. It's got no tail and it's an unusual-looking dog. It's pretty black and devilish looking. They're not everybody's cup of tea but they have the same personality as I have - intensely lively, loyal and adaptable.

"I am excited, not nervous, because I know my breed. I love showing dogs - it's my life. I am an exhibitor first, a judge second."

Her parents Vera and Donald Hart were looking forward to seeing her judge Crufts, but both died in 2005 and she hopes the honour will be a fitting tribute to them.

IT STARTED WITH A SCHIPPERKE...MrS Hart Diggines' honour follows her record as an exhibitor of Schipperkes for the past 36 years after inheriting her first champion dog at the age of 17.

The dog, Spark of Schippland, a champion in 1977, was left to her in the will of top Herefordshire breeder Lawrence Ludford where she worked as a kennel maid after leaving school at 15.

She has carried the beacon for the breed ever since.

She now forms a team with her 32 year-old daughter, Catherine Earp, also from Malvern, an exhibitor, breeder and judge.

The two are more like sisters than mother and daughter, thanks to a shared love of the rare and adventurous breed.

Schipperkes are rumoured to have sailed with Columbus and the breed is often called a Belgian barge dog and nicknamed The Little Captain', the English translation of its Flemish name.

Between them, mother and daughter have produced five champion Schipperkes.

CRUFTS FACTFILE* Crufts is named after its founder Charles Cruft. The young Charles left college in 1876 and had no desire to join the family jewellery business. Instead he took employment with James Spratt who had set up a new venture in Holborn, London selling dog cakes'.

* Charles Cruft was ambitious and a relatively short apprenticeship as an office boy led to promotion to travelling salesman. This brought him into contact with large estates and sporting kennels. His next career move with Spratts saw him travelling to Europe - and here in 1878 French dog breeders, invited him to organise the promotion of the canine section of the Paris Exhibition.

* Back in England in 1886 he took up the management of the Allied Terrier Club Show at the Royal Aquarium, Westminster.

* The first Crufts show in that name was booked into the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington in 1891. This was the first in a long series of shows there.

* In 1938 Charles Cruft died and his widow ran the 1939 show. Three years later, Mrs Cruft felt the responsibility for running the show too demanding and, in order to perpetuate the name of the show, her husband had made world famous, she asked the Kennel Club to take it over and it was sold to them; 1948 was the first show under the Kennel Club auspices at Olympia.

* In 1979, it was decided to change the venue from Olympia to Earls Court as the increasing entries had the show bursting at the seams. In 1982, the show ran for three days and in 1987 for four days to accommodate the increasing numbers of dogs and spectators.

* 1991 saw the Crufts Centenary Show held at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre - the first time the show had moved from London. This is the 16th year the show has been staged at the NEC.

THERE'LL BE PLENTY FROM WORCESTERSHIRE THERE

There'll be plenty from worcestershire there There are 123 exhibitors from the Worcestershire area exhibiting every conceivable type of breed from Rhodesian Ridgebacks to Golden Retrievers and from Welsh Terriers to Weimaraners.

One couple going for success at Crufts is Chris Bennett, aged 53, and her husband Steve Bennett of Droitwich Road, Worcester.

They are exhibiting a malinois called Sharpe, kennel name Saberfield Zooming High, a best of breed champion, as well as Goldmali Angel, pet name Cleo, a rare grey malinois, and Lily, kennel name Hawksflight Seduction, a champion tervueren.