BOLTON'S top dogs hit the Cruft's trail this week.

And the contingent of 12 dogs, six puppies and 15 humans from the Guide Dogs for the Blind training Centre in Lowndes Street should prove fascinating to the thousands of visitors at the country's most prestigious dog show.

This is not just because of the simulated street scene -including BEN poster boards and genuine street obstacles provided by North West Water and other organisations.

But also because among the canines taking part in the demonstrations of the guide dogs' daily work will be a Jack Russell terrier and a pure-bred white poodle called Nathan!

"These are one-offs, though," explained the centre's Bob Steele. "We definitely have no plans to stop using golden retrievers and labradors."

They are providing public demonstrations of these working dogs on Thursday, Friday and Sunday by special invitation from Cruft's because Bolton is a regional training centre.

And, for local folk who cannot get down to the event at the NEC in Birmingham this week, the centre is planning to stage the same demonstrations publicly in Bolton later in the year.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.