A little rescue dog from Romania is featured in the winning entry in Rushen Heritage Trust’s 2018 calendar competition.

It was snapped by owner Lucy Matthews, who said: ‘This photograph was taken using my iPhone camera while taking our rescue dog, Darcey, for a walk.

‘I turned to see her close by, the sun breaking through the clouds and suddenly there was an amazing view.

‘I quickly aimed, snapped and hoped for the best. It wasn’t until I came home and took a look at the picture that I thought it was a pretty good aim! I had it printed and framed and it is still my favourite photograph.’

The entry received 24 per cent of the overall votes in the competition, so it was a very clear winner.

Lucy has donated her £100 prize to the UK-registered charity that rescued Darcey.

She explained: ‘We adopted Darcey in December from a charity called Amicii, who rescue stray, abandoned and abused dogs in Romania.

‘Volunteers work tirelessly to save as many dogs as possible and, through fundraising, sponsors and donations, are able to spay, neuter, treat, care for and send as many of their dogs to foster carers and adopters in the UK and the Isle of Man.

‘I think it is only fitting that in lieu of gift vouchers the money be donated to this charity. After all, if it wasn’t for their fabulous work we’d never have adopted Darcey and she’d never have taken me for a walk that day – so a big thank you to everyone who voted for my photograph!’

The dogs that live at the shelter in Romania have come mainly from the streets of towns such as Vii?oara, Câmpia Turzii and Turda.

Many are abandoned at the shelter – some are even thrown over the fence – while others have been abandoned by their owners and taken into the care of the shelter team, and more are taken from the state public shelter in Turda.

The 35 photographs entered in this year’s RHT competition were taken of views on routes guided by mobile phone apps developed by RHT and launched in October.

Special beacons placed at specific waypoints along the route give information – after downloading the Isle of Man Walks app to a smartphone – through photographs, films and audio pieces about the area.

The 11 runners up will also feature in the calendar.

Rushen Heritage Trust director Lawrence Skelly MHK said: ‘I believe Lucy richly deserves the top prize of the photographic competition as she has wonderfully captured the essence of the beautiful south that is Rushen.

‘I would like to thank everyone who entered the competition, which clearly attracted a very high standard, and encourage the general public to continue snapping and sharing their photos of Rushen via our Facebook and Twitter accounts.’

The calendar is available for pre-order at www.rushenheritage.org and www.isleofmanwalks.com and all proceeds will be used to develop more walks on the app.