Northern-based brewer Thwaites invited a faithful friend to switch on of its famous brewery star: Jip, the talented dart playing pub dog at The Royds Arms in Rochdale, jumped at the chance to have the starring role. A long tradition cherished by many local people in Blackburn, the switching on of the famous brewery star marks the start of the festive season for many members of the community.
Jip the YouTube sensation
2012 has been an amazing year for Jip who became a YouTube sensation performing her dart retrieving tricks and starring in her own downloadable darts game app.
As well as turning her into a four-legged celebrity, Jip’s ‘paw’ talent with the dartboard has made her the official pub mascot and an honorary member of The Royds Arms darts team. Drinkers from all over Lancashire visit the pub to witness Jip’s amazing dart fetching skills.
A busy year for Jip
Jip also gave birth to nine puppies, six male and three female in early June. Landlord and dog lover Kenneth Hughes trained Jip to retrieve the darts from the dartboard by leaping into the air and carefully plucking them out. The athletic pooch then places the darts at the feet of the darts player ready to fetch again.
Lee Williams, marketing manager of Thwaites said: “The switching on of our iconic brewery star is a time honoured tradition in Blackburn and who better to do it this year than our very own four legged star, Jip. This is the first time in our history we’ve ever had a dog do this but Jip was the perfect choice to do the honours this year. Perhaps she should embark on a new career of celebrity appearances!”
About Daniel Thwaites
Daniel Thwaites is a leading UK craft brewer with its heartland in Blackburn in Lancashire and national reach. Founded in 1807 and still family-owned and run, Thwaites has a rich heritage of providing welcoming hospitality across its pub estate and of brewing award-winning ales including the World Beer Awards Europe’s best pale golden beer, Wainwright and Nutty Black, the World’s Best Mild.
Based at The Star Brewery, Thwaites owns a portfolio of around 320 pubs, a small but growing group of boutique coaching inns, The Inns of Character, and six four-star full service regional hotels and spas, The Shire Hotels.
Thwaites also supplies a full range of drinks to many independently owned pubs, clubs and restaurants across the UK and a wide range of bottled beers to most major supermarkets.
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