On the other paw…

I stared at the screen in utter awe as Ashley and Pudsey took a bow. Cue two toy poodles, who look more like toilet rolls than dogs, desperately jumping up at the screen, barking in excitement at a fellow dog on the big colourful box thing. Despite my family’s yells, my two fluffy cotton wool dogs refuse to leave the screen alone.

Since Pudsey won Britain’s Got Talent, there have been two very different viewpoints; “Awww, I loved the little doggy. I am so glad he won,” and “What? A dog won half a million pounds? What is the world coming to?” I loved the fact that Ashley and Pudsey won – in my opinion, they completely deserved it.

Firstly, a dog act is different. It’s not the same old dancers with the token child performer, it isn’t the odd ball who can sing beautifully, and it isn’t some weirdo who has, God only knows how, gotten into the final. Why have the singers who auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent not tried for X Factor instead? Are these people just entering any competition they can? They don’t really care as long as they get a few seconds screen time. And does anyone really remember last year’s singer winner? All I remember was that he was blonde, sang Evanescence rather well, and was quickly dropped by Simon Cowell.

The most important reason I think Ashley and Pudsey should have won is simple: what about Ashley? The money hasn’t literally gone to Pudsey. He isn’t about to hit the town, take out his doggy purse and go wild. The money has gone to Ashley, who has spent everyday working and training. She is clearly hard-working and determined, so why shouldn’t she win the prize money? Why shouldn’t she be rewarded for having worked so hard? People say that anyone can train a dog if they put enough effort into it, but who actually does? I remember when I first got my pair, I was determined to teach them all the tricks… we’ve got as far as roll over, and that’s only when I obviously have doggy treats in my hand.

I know many people are upset that opera duo Jonathan and Charlotte didn’t win, but at the end of the day they were clearly born with natural operatic talent. I am not denying they have had to practice and develop their singing skills but I think we can all agree, you can either sing or you can’t. Ashley, meanwhile, has had to work with something new. Pudsey was not born walking on his back legs. Instead, Ashley had to teach an animal who doesn’t understand human speech, solely focuses on food and gets distracted easily to perform on stage and be thoroughly obedient. Ashley must have slaved away to be able to have achieved something so remarkable – and frankly, I feel she put in a lot more effort than the other contestants (apart from the two young ballroom dancers).

I think we should all sit back and enjoy the fact that a dog won Britain’s Got Talent. A cute small animal which touched the heart of the nation and brought a great deal of fun and entertainment to the screen and even made Simon Cowell smile. Jonathan and Charlotte have a singing contract now and Pudsey will perform for the Queen. No one can ever underestimate the power of a dog and what the dog means at the heart of the British people. And, furthermore, we should focus more on congratulating Ashley and her amazing feat at having trained a dog so well, rather than just trying to shame the fact that man’s best friend stole the show.