Best in show WE'RE DOGGED FASHIONISTAS

The stylish mother and daughter are yappy to swap gumboots for glamour

- Leena Tailor

When clients show up to Hamilton doggie daycare and kennel Petite Paws, they’ll often find owner Anna Campbell and her 26-year-old daughter Eleanor knee-deep in dirt, chasing canines or cleaning up their mess. But when they finish work for the day, they can transform into glamorous racewear catwalk queens – and they are almost unrecognisable!

The mother-daughter duo, who are regulars at the races, love to dress up and their skills have seen them both deepen their bond and win global fashion titles.

“It’s such a neat creative outlet, going from the farm clothes we’re dressed in 90 per cent of the time to full glamour,” says Anna, 53. “People are getting hair and make-up done before these events, while we’re out there picking up dog poo, carrying around wet dogs, then doing our own express hair and make-up!”

“Life would be pretty boring if we never left the farm or got out of our dog clothes,” adds Eleanor.

The glitz of the races is a world away from Anna’s farm upbringing, where the former “tomboy” recalls wearing bread bags over socks and gloves to keep them dry – “obviously this isn’t where the fashion interest started!” she laughs.

Rural life ignited her love for animals and she regularly flipped through her favourite dog book, circling breeds she wanted. “A lot of them, I now look after,” she shares. The breed she is particularly fond of is Chihuahua.

After returning from her OE and marrying at 21, Anna welcomed daughters Claudia, now 28, then Eleanor, explaining her youngest child quickly developed an eye for fashion.