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    Topaz was Sired by INT/AM/LUX/DUTCH Ch. Raintree Slippery When Wet JH CGC.  Her Dam is Blue Knight Solar Eclipse.

    Topaz had a rough start.  She was small, and had a nasty case of gastritis as a small baby.  Pulling through that, it was all uphill for her.   I never liked the look of the darker yellows, and here I was falling for this dark little sprite.  She was a smart puppy who was eager to please.  She became a smart adult, with a strong will. Topaz and I have butt heads more than a few times.  It’s a toss-up as to who won the battles.  I think the score is pretty much even.   What started as a frustrating personality became the thing that is enduring about her.

    Her first breeding was done when she was just one month shy of three years of age.  She was bred to Ch. Blu Knight Classic Slapshott (owned by Cathy Banks of Shoalcreek Labradors).   The litter of eight puppies produced a lovely girl, Blue Knight Sun Sign ("Sunny"), who immediately started doing well in the show ring.  When Sunny was just 1 ½, she was already on her way to her championship.   Just prior to her second birthday, Sunny had 14 of the fifteen points required for a CH. and had her two required majors.  We had only a single point to go when we did her 2 year OFA clearances, and found she had a mild Hip Dysplasia in one hip.  What a sad day that was.  This was a bitch that often won on her outstanding movement.   We could have gone on to get that single point and make another Blue Knight champion, but taking a point away from another dog, knowing we would not be using her in a breeding program,  just didn’t seem right.  She was spayed and now lives with our Son’s family.  She sleeps with our grandson, and is a well loved member of the family.  Not  the life we had planned for her, but we couldn’t be happier for the life she lives.

    A year later,  Topaz was bred to our stud, Hyspire Just In Case (“Casey”), a breeding that only produced three puppies, but produced a lovely girl we named Gabby (Blue Knight Happy Talk ).  Gabby is quite simply the sweetest dog in the kennel.  She possesses none of her mother’s strong will.  She lives to please, and is happy to let us balance the checkbook (something that her mother, Topaz, would likely attempt if we let her).  Gabby, interestingly, is OFA Excellent. She has been shown on a limited basis, and is found in the ribbons when she is shown, but her heart isn't into showing.  

    Topaz had her third and last litter at the age of five.  That litter, by Ch. Blue Knight INXS produced five male puppies.  We kept a yellow male (Blue Knight Special EFX ~ "Lucas"), and placed a black male (Blue Knight Xtreme RPM ~ “Hemi”) with Veronica and Wayne Karr (Annight Labradors).  At the time of this writing, Hemi is just one Major from his CH.  Both of these boys are also OFA Excellent.

    Topaz is 8 ½ at this time, retired from breeding, and leading the other dogs into mischief.  She was a wonderful mother, and produced very nicely for us.  She remains eager to please, and has the sort of temperament that a breeder wishes for.  She enjoys every dog she meets, without any argument.  You can put her in with any dog, and they’ll get along.   It’s best if you want the other dog to lose some weight, however, as we found we have to be careful about who she is fed with; Topaz will happily eat her own food, and then rush to consume the food in her friend’s bowl.  She’s rather sneaky about this, and we discovered it when she became quite fat, and her friend, Flo, lost weight at an amazing rate.  We’re on to her now!    Topaz is the first in the group to *push*  her way in for extra time with us.   We think she still remembers being that sick little puppy, who received 100% of our attention for awhile, being pampered and hand fed.  Almost 9 years later, she thinks she still should be getting prime attention.   Topaz is our resident Peter Pan.. she’ll never grow up!