A PROFESSIONAL pet photographer has seen off international competition to win an award.

Around 13,000 entries from over 60 countries were submitted to The Kennel Club’s Dog Photographer of the Year competition, but it was 29-year-old Cat Race’s snap of a Burnley Great Dane puppy that they chose to win.

Cat, who works across the county from her base in Preston, said: “Driving to a shoot, I received a call to say I’d won the Puppy’s category. I literally squealed with excitement.

“I have entered every category of the competition for the last two years because entering just seemed acutely appropriate.

“It involves my two key passions, which also happen to be the core elements of my business, dogs and photography.”

Cat said she enjoyed taking snaps of dogs more than other shoots while working in a previous job as a family portraiture photographer.

She said: “There seemed to be an innate connection between the dogs and me, which allows me to capture each dog’s personality.

“This realisation inspired me to start Cat’s Dog Photography.”

And it was during a shoot with a client when she took her winning shot, a puppy called Tinkerbell who has not her intended subject.

She said: “She just happened to be in the location at the time.

“I knew as soon as I saw the puppy that I had to photograph her and, as my previous clients shoot was coming to an end, I seized the opportunity.

“When the shot was taken, Tinkerbell had just begun to playfully stalk my chihuahua Poppy, who accompanies some of our photographers while they are shooting.

“I strive to capture the individual character behind each dog, and the unplanned circumstances behind this shot help to depict that particularly well.

“It’s an honour to be recognised by a reputable organisation such as The Kennel Club.”

Cat will collect her award at Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show, in Birmingham on Saturday.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club secretary, said: “It was a challenging task for our judging panel to choose our winners from such a fine selection of entries.”