Whether you love or loathe Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise, you have to respect the entrepreneurial spirit of its leading ladies. Some use their fame to become successful restauranteurs or less successful recording artists. The number of alcoholic beverages put out by the Bethennys and Ramonas of the world is simply staggering. And while we’re still sort of hoping that LeeAnne will debut her own line of They’re Just Hands™ leather gloves, Dallas’ Real Housewives have mostly been using their reality powers for good.
An example is SMU grad and SparkleDog food creator Kameron Westcott, who was recently named the Honorary Co-Chair for the No Tie Dinner & Dessert Party, the April fundraiser benefitting AIDS Services of Dallas. “Many people in Dallas are affected by HIV, including some of my close friends,” says Westcott. “Like cancer, it is a disease that needs help fighting, and I want to be a part of that fight.” In the name of that newly launched dog food, Westcott will also donate $10,000 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation in 2018. We caught up with Westcott to learn a bit more about the pink-loving Highland Park mother, why she wants to give back, and what she hopes RHOD watchers will take away about the city of Dallas.
As a California girl, what kept you in Dallas after attending SMU?
I was dating my husband at the time, and my parents said I needed to have a job in order to stay. Otherwise, I had to move home. So I went to go work for Fossil Headquarters in Richardson in Inside Sales.
What are some of your favorite spots to shop/eat in Dallas?
My favorite spots to dine are Bullion, Mirador, and Café Pacific. As far as shopping goes, I love everything! For kids clothing, I shop at The Tot. For myself, I love Hadleigh’s. I also rely pretty heavily on my close girlfriend and Highland Park Village personal shopper, Rebecca Bowen, to pick out a lot of my outfits.
Where do you find all your pink ensembles?
I have a lot of people looking out for me. Whenever Rebecca sees something pink, she calls me right away. By now, most of the stores in Dallas know that I’m a crazy pink lady so they all call me the minute a pink item arrives. But if I am shopping online, I will simply google ‘pink’ and click the shopping tap.
How did you become involved with Susan G. Komen?
My childhood best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, and I saw firsthand how hard the whole process is. I then did some research and found that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with the disease, and that every 60 seconds someone dies from breast cancer. These alarming stats made me realize that we have to find a cure, because it affects everyone. After I developed SparkleDog, I knew I wanted to tie in a charity, and since Susan G. Komen is headquartered in Dallas, it only made sense for us to partner.
Let’s talk about Real Housewives of Dallas. How did you end up being cast on the show?
I am still not quite sure! One minute I was driving my kids to school and the next I have a camera in my face when I am flossing my teeth. Joking aside, I knew Cary Deuber, and she told the producers about me, and after months of debating of whether or not to do it, I decided that you only live once. I knew that I was more likely to regret not trying then putting myself out there.
What’s been the most surprising part about being a part of the show?
My cast mates! Going in, I knew that Dallas had strong women and strong personalities, but Bravo did a great job rounding up the cream of the crop. I never know what is going to happen next on the show, but that’s what makes it great television. The other housewives are always catching me off guard, and somehow things always start normal and end up wild.
What do you enjoy about being on the show?
Besides being able to use the platform to help spread Susan G. Komen’s message and help dogs eat fabulous food, my other favorite part of being on the show is getting to connect with other women through social media that are as obsessed with pink as I am.
What do you hope people who watch RHOD will take away about the city of Dallas?
Though we meet the stereotype that things are bigger in Dallas, from our drama to our closets, Dallas is also much more than that. Dallas is a classy, first-rate city filled with real, hard-working, charity-driven people that deeply care about their fellow citizens and community, and who are not afraid to laugh at themselves.
