A rescue dog’s ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ was thwarted by Channel 4.

Lacey, the rescue collie, was due to perform an agility demonstration in the main arena at Crufts on Saturday.

However, due to scheduling issues, Lacey was one of five dogs to miss out on the chance to represent rescue dogs everywhere.

Lacey was taken to Birmingham by her owners Lorraine and Neil Leckenby, who live in Lonan.

Lorraine said: ‘Initially I thought something had happened to her, so I jumped out of my seat and ran back down to where Lacey was.

‘They said: “We can’t take any more in, we’re running out of time,” so people were begging the arena manager to let this little girl go in, as she was in bits. But they had to go by what the film crew were saying as they were broadcasting it.’

The pair were understandably upset however they accepted the decision. ‘Neil just said “It’s just one of those things”, it could have happened to anyone,’ Lorraine said.

‘It was disappointing because we were so looking forward to her doing her bit of agility but we thought afterwards “30 seconds of running around agility equipment was nothing compared to her behaviour on the day we’re so proud of her.

‘We were absolutely amazed with her behaviour. We thought it might be overwhelming for her and we were worried that she was going to have some issues when she got home so we thought twice about going in the first place.

‘But she handled walking around the halls, with crowds of people and other dogs, and took it all in her stride.’

Three-and-a-half year-old Lacey was going to represent the Valgray’s Border Collie and Animal Rescue, which is where she was adopted from.

She regularly performs at agility competitions in the UK.

Her next competition will be at the Lincolnshire Dog Enthusiasts Agility Show.

Lacey has also been booked to be on next year’s Crufts show to showcase her agility and Lorraine and Neil are aleady preparing her for the limelight again.

Lorraine said: ‘She’ll just carry on with her agility training and we’re going to make sure that we take her to crowded places, like Strand Street or the promenade because our dogs go to a field to play.’

Lacey is one of a pack of six dogs in the Leckenby household, three of which are rescues.

Lorraine continued: ‘For her to be separated from the dogs, which we do anyway as each dog gets one-on-one time, is important.’

Lacey has also been approached to perform at the Discover Dogs show in the ExCel arena in London.

Lorraine said: ‘We got a phone call on Tuesday night asking if we would take Lacey to do a rescue demonstration and some interviews.

‘We’re going to sit and discuss it because we’ve got to consider if we can leave the other dogs again so soon.’

The show allows the public to see different dog breeds to help them decide which breed is right for them when it comes to adopting their own canine family member.