BUDDY the dog has become a lucky charm among Saints fans who haven t seen their football team lose a single match in his presence. His owner Malcolm Cottrell, a lifelong St Albans City fan, started taking cocker spaniel Buddy to Clarence Park at the end o

BUDDY the dog has become a lucky charm among Saints fans who haven't seen their football team lose a single match in his presence.

His owner Malcolm Cottrell, a lifelong St Albans City fan, started taking cocker spaniel Buddy to Clarence Park at the end of last season when relegation was looming.

The losing spell ended when Buddy attended his first match and the crowd urged Malcolm to bring him back the next week.

So he went along to the following five home games - which resulted in four wins and one draw - and Buddy was rewarded with a biscuit after each goal.

He is now something of a celebrity at Clarence Park and has returned there this season to the delight of the home fans.

Again the team hasn't lost a game when five-year-old Buddy, complete with his very own Saints scarf, has been in the crowd.

Malcolm, a 63-year-old retired aviation engineer, said: "He is a celebrity among our part of the stand. People are very amused - now every time we score he taps me on the leg for a biscuit."

Buddy had been badly treated when at the age of one he was rescued by Malcolm and his wife Mary, of Townsend Drive in St Albans.

The sprightly spaniel is also very popular among the children in his street who often invite him round for sleepovers and he curls up at the end of their beds.

"He is such a happy dog, he never stops wagging his tail all day long," said Malcolm, who grew up in St Albans and followed his dad in becoming a Saints fan.

But he believes that one thing is missing in Buddy's life - a family of his own.

Malcolm would like to see Buddy become a dad and said: "Then we can have lots of good luck charms and win the league!"

Anyone who knows of a potential partner for Buddy should contact Malcolm on 01727 762099.