A rescue collie who was dumped in a Tesco bag as a puppy is set to represent the country at Crufts next month after being named Ireland’s best agility dog for the fourth year in a row.
Indiana Bones, also known as Indy, was handed into an animal shelter in Mayo inside a Tesco Bag for Life when she was eight weeks old – and the woman who brought her there asked for the bag back, her owner said.
Now aged 10, Indy is poised to become the first dog to represent Ireland at the world’s biggest agility show for four years in a row, and has also carved out a career as a star of the silver screen.
The sprightly collie acted alongside Barry Keoghan and Colm Meaney in the thriller Bring Them Down in 2024; and also starred as Sergeant Scraps in the US sitcom Going Dutch.
Rescue collie Indiana Bones with her owner Laura Murphy. Photograph: Laura Murphy
Owner Laura Murphy said the dog has taken success in her stride, and is looking forward to heading to Birmingham for Crufts next month.
“She’s a really good girl and always has been from day one,” she said.
“Indy just excelled at everything she did, like trick training and agility, and then, on the side, she’s a famous actress as well.
“Agility is her main job, of course, but we’re kind of winding down there. She’s 10 and a half years old and we don’t want to keep her going too long and risk an injury.
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“So, she’s going to be retiring from big competitions. She’ll still do a little bit for fun as she gets older – lots of conditioning and fitness work – but we’ll probably be focusing on her acting career going forward,” added Murphy.
She credits Indiana Bones with encouraging her own career as a professional dog trainer – she runs WaggyMamas agility and training in Wicklow – explaining that “Indy had a huge part to play in that”.
The trip to Crufts is undaunting for the pair. “We like our little road trips, so it’ll be easy enough,” Murphy said, having previously competed in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
“Indy’s a perfect girl at home and then she just takes really well to training, and she’s just not scared of anything. She just has a super temperament, she can withstand anything that’s going on.
“She loves the crowds when they’re cheering her on, she loves the round of applause. She loves the attention, I guess,” said Murphy.
Crufts, the world’s largest dog show, takes place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from March 5th to March 8th.