Pair walk away with the prize

Readers voted golden retrievers Ellie and Eve, belonging to mother and daughter Carole and Joanne Nutty, as the winners out of more than 200 entries for the 2010 title.

Eve’s owner, Joanne, of Greenmeadow, entered the dynamic duo and said she was surprised that they won.

“Obviously we canvassed everyone we know,” said the 36-year-old.

“We think our dogs are gorgeous but everyone thinks their own dogs are gorgeous too.

“There were some really cute dogs in the competition.

“Thank you to the people who voted for us and anyone else who thought that our girls were lush.”

Joanne and the dogs have won a £100 voucher for Petshed on Hay Lane, in Wroughton.

However, she said Eve would not be having many treats as a reward because she is not very well.

“She’s only allowed a certain type of milky bones. They will get cuddles and things instead,” she said.

Eve is no stranger to the Pet Idol crown.

She won the competition five years ago, when she was only one.

“They mean so much to us. Each year we say, ‘shall we enter?’ and when we saw it in the paper we just thought, let’s try and get a good picture,” said Joanne.

Eve is six years old and Ellie is two.

Joanne also wanted to get her mother’s puppy, Cassie, in the photo too.

“We did try and get a picture with all of them in but at the time she was only about eight weeks old and we couldn’t get her to sit still,” she said.

Although Ellie belongs to Joanne’s mother, Carole, the dogs see each other every day.

And Eve’s father is Ellie’s grandfather.

“They just get on really well,” said Joanne.

“They’re very protective of each other and they look out for each other.”

Joanne said the family had always had pet dogs.

“My parents had a dog when I was born and that dog looked after me,” she said.

“I decided to have my own on the condition that she comes back to my mum’s regularly.

“That is why they’re so close really.

“They go out on regular trips to my work and people come out to the car park to see them.”