competing in shows in every state and territory .

‘’ I won competitions in Dubbo , Tamworth , every state , had 11 Australian grand champions , and won in New Zealand ,’’ she said .

It was a natural progression to develop an interest in judging .

‘’ It doesn ’ t come easy , it took several years of study ,’’ she said . Lowchens are part of the 27 breeds of the Chihuahua family that judges have to judge .

Maggie realised what the ultimate in the specialised judging she did would be when she went to New York in 2011 , helping to prepare another Aussie breeder ’ s dog for the New York competition .

‘’ It would have cost me $ 15,000 to take one of my own dogs ,’’ she said .

The dog she helped prepare won in its class but didn ’ t progress any further , but this was the real pilgrim ’ s progress for Maggie .

‘’ The competition at Westminster , New York attracts 20,000 entrants and is the biggest in the United States .

‘’ I paid $ 280 for a ticket to attend the finals at Madison Square Garden .’’

One day I ’ ll be a judge here , Maggie said to herself ........

Well , it isn ’ t that easy to be an International Judge , a prospective judge must be nominated for these competitions , perhaps by a visiting overseas expert . Then these prospective judges are nominated from all over the world , and then chosen by a panel of experts .

Maggie ’ s day finally came in 2019 when she was nominated and returned to Westminster as a fair-dinkum Aussie judge at the biggest competition in the United States .

She extended her stay and defrayed the cost by assisting her former veterinarian boss , who had moved from Blakehurst to Minnesota with his wife and started another practice after a family tragedy .

Since then , knowledge of Maggies expertise , if not her fame , have spread .

She received another nomination this year , and was a judge at one of the major European competitions in Sweden in September .

‘’ I was the first Australian to be nominated to be a judge there ,’’ she said .

So now knowledge of her expertise has spread to Europe , she hopes to be nominated as a judge for the next big one , in Finland next year , but that ’ s not the biggest one and the biggest ambition .

‘’ I ’ d hope to be a judge in England in 2025 ,’’ she said . ‘’ New York ’ s got 20,000 entrants but England ’ s the biggest of the lot , with 30,000 entrants . ‘’ It ’ s on my bucket list .’’ A return to work is an option too . Her former boss plans a return to Australia in 12 months and Maggie will be happy to assist again if needed , at Kogarah or wherever .

Did her children inherent her love of dogs ? Her daughter Toni did .

‘’ She won a best in class in Darwin and was a runner-up for best in Australia and used to help out , but then got married

and had children ,’’ she said . Her son Michael ? ‘’ He ’ s the black sheep ,’’ she said . ‘’ He was interested in soccer and rugby league and played Jersey Flegg for Canterbury , but was ultimately too small .’’

Maggie is also a trailblazer in another way . She joined women who were given the use of Telopea Men ’ s Shed for a carpentry course , and has stayed on , accepted by the men as the only woman and goes every Wednesday .

She also now wants to learn

applicating there , so she can send copies of her handiwork to friends and family .

Campbell is part of the thousands who attend the regular show days at the enormous Bill Spilstead Canine Affair complex show days .

At home she has her dogs and eight skinless Phynx cats , whose origins go back to Egyptian times .

Asked how she herds cats and dogs and makes them all get along , she said simply ,

‘’ Because I ’ m the boss .’’