Memorial - Topper

Ch. Symmetry's Vrroom At The Top 8/27/2005 - 7/3/18 She was the last of the "KinseyHams" - she was the only girl in the litter, and has her mother's "I'm a Princess and you may cater to me now" attitude in triplicate!! But we're crazy about her, even if she is a brat... We will always miss her!! Sassy stripey girl...
9 days old - How sweet! Little did we know...
5 weeks old. Any kind of stacked picture ("stacking" refers to the standardized show pose, used to make it easier to compare the structure of one dog to another) of Topper became a rare item for the next few months - she went through a LONG, really really headstrong phase!! I've got plenty of pictures of her having a hissy fit, though...
	9 weeks old. Ear cropping (surgically trimming the ears to make them lighter so that they will stand erect) is a controversial practice. I think part of the reason some people think it's cruel is that they see puppies with their ears braced up in these bandages, and think the ears must hurt. They don't realize that the ears heal VERY fast, and the bandages are just used to prop the ear up until the cartilage matures and hardens. Puppies are notoriously non-stoic - believe me, if this hurt they would LET YOU KNOW ABOUT IT!!
4 months. This is what the ears look like when they're not taped up - at this age they'll stand for a day or so then they start to droop and we tape them up again. She'll grow into them, but they do look really long here!
	Four and a half months - and all of a sudden, she's willing to stack!! Plus, our friend Verjean is really, really good at handling dogs!
Topper has always had a crush on our dear friend Chantel's boy Tiger - but apparently he wasn't paying enough attention to her here!! Fortunately Tiger is REALLY tolerant!
	Major Reserve! March 2006: Just six months old, at her very first show Topper takes a Major Reserve at the Dallas Specialty!
On her way to her Championship! Here's Topper winning her second point in Oklahoma City shortly after turning 10 months old.
	Topper winning her first major in Houston!
Winning again!
	Champion Topper! All grown up, and our Topper joins her brothers Keeper, Gus and Teddy as AKC Champions. All 4 dogs were handled by my husband Ronnie (with occasional assistance from yours truly and other friends) Now on to Agility!
Barb and Topper competing in Agilty at the 2012 GDCA National in Topeka.
	Veteran Topper! Topper continues to age beautifully, and Ronnie shows her in Veteran's classes whenever they are offered. Here they are seen competing at the GDCA National in 2012. She always had the most beautiful movement.
Veteran Best in Show! In July 2014, just a month before she turned 10, Topper went Best Veteran In Show in all-breed competition at the big Oklahoma City weekend of shows! The following day, at the Great Dand Club of Oklahoma's Specialty, she went Select Bitch over several (MUCH younger) bitch specials, for a Grand Major!