Dog wins football club's mascot draw for children

Hilary Little and Berry are hoping to meet their heroes at a training session

A border terrier caused a stir at Motherwell FC when it became the unlikely winner of its mascot competition for children.

The club contacted Hilary and Mike Little, from Walkerburn in the Scottish Borders, to inform them that their "child" - 11-year-old Berry - had been randomly selected for the role at the Motherwell Women's game at the weekend.

Staff discovered the couple had registered the dog as a member of the club's fan ownership group, the Well Society, a decade ago.

With a "no dogs allowed" policy in place at the football ground Berry could not take up the offer, and instead will meet the team at a training session.

Berry the border terrier was selected in the draw to be match mascot at Motherwell Ladies

Motherwell FC was brought into fan ownership in 2016, when the Well Society assumed a 76% shareholding.

All children who sign up as junior members are entered into a draw to become a mascot for each game.

Hilary and Mike enrolled 11-year-old Berry as a "Junior Steel" member shortly after her birth, and Hilary admits she did fear the day the mascot call might come.

"Mike and I knew it was one of the benefits, and we spoke about what might happen if Berry's name was chosen," she said.

"We toyed with the idea of just turning up with Berry on match day to surprise them - she loves her football.

"But when Jim at the Well Society called to tell me Berry's name had come out of the hat, he was so excited about welcoming her to the next game as a guest of the club, that I had to come clean.

"We had a bit of a chuckle."

Volunteer Jim Wright recalled: "She just burst out laughing and said she’d been rumbled!"

Four-legged fans

Sadly, he had to inform Hilary that dogs were not permitted inside the ground on match days, but Sally Hall, the Well Society's development manager, came up with a solution.

"It's been quite a laugh," she said.

"We're aware that we do have lots of fans all over the world with four legs, and it's great to know that Berry is one of them.

"But, unfortunately, we don't allow animals into the ground, so we're speaking to Hilary about her, Mike and Berry coming up from the Borders for a training session, and meeting the players.

"We'll maybe see which player Berry is most like."

Motherwell's four-legged supporter Berry, and owner Hilary, have paid their dues to the Lanarkshire club over the years

Hilary is looking forward to the trip and admits the fun has just added to the family's love for their football club.

"My husband Mike became a Motherwell supporter when he was seven, and was in Law Hospital, and the team came to visit," she said.

"That left a big impression him and when we met I became a Motherwell fan too.

"We joined the Well Society to help the club, and we don't have children so we thought: 'Well, we'll sign the dog up.'"

She said it was a way to give an extra donation to the club.

"Our last dog has his name on a brick on the stadium wall so we like to do daft little things with our animals," she added.