8 Unsung Beauties of the 2014 Houston World Series of Dog Shows

Maha Ahmed

Hair Balls decided to get in on the action and give some pups a chance to take a break from the high-stress competitions. We asked their owners to tell us about their lives outside of grooming and showing.

These 8 "aww"-inducing creatures are more than just show dogs. They are the unsung beauties of Texas.

Name: Rupert (photo above)

Breed: Chinese crested

Hometown: Alvin, TX

Personal life: When Rupert isn't at a dog show, he's listening to children from local schools read to him and helping them overcome their anxiety. He's a certified therapy dog.

Quirks: Rupert's owner thinks he's pretty normal, but looking at his precious face leaves us begging to differ.

Cats? Never been around them.

Maha Ahmed

Curly-Q is a couch potato when he's not being obedient

Name: Curly-Q

Breed: Toy Poodle

Hometown: Houston, TX

Personal life: Curly-Q is really just a lazy couch potato.

Quirks: "A lot of anything."

Cats?: No.

Maha Ahmed

Name: Edgar

Breed: St. Bernard

Hometown: Tyler, TX

Personal Life: Drools....often.

Quirks: Edgar loves cats and birds. But cats don't like him. Neither do birds. They always run or fly away when he chases them. This confuses Edgar.

Cats? Edgar doesn't want to talk about it.

Maha Ahmed

Name: FoxE (capital "E")

Breed: Pomhuahua (Pomeranian and Chihuahua mix)

Hometown: Houston, TX

Personal life: Being sassy.

Quirks: FoxE eats everything, from food to treats, in a very specific corner of the house. And she's sassy.

Cats? She tries to play with her cat sisters and is protective of them when other dogs do.

Maha Ahmed

Name: Lola

Breed: Italian Greyhound

Hometown: Orange, TX

Personal life: Lola spends most of her time being a house clown.

Quirks: She likes to climb up her owner as if she were a cat and he were a dresser.

Cats? Dogs are man's best friends; cats are Lola's best friends.

Maha Ahmed

Name: Sparkle Plenty

Breed: Chinese Shar Pei

Hometown: Forney, TX

Personal life: Sparkly Plenty keeps herself sparkly by taking frequent baths.

Quirks: She knows she's beautiful.

Cats? Rumors say she loves them, but who knows. It's only hearsay.

Maha Ahmed

Name: Cruise

Breed: English Cocker Spaniel

Hometown: Conroe, TX

Personal life: When he isn't busy being a show champion, he visits elderly in nursing homes.

Quirks: Cruise, who also goes by "Knight N Day," spends most of his time sitting on his owner's feet when they don't feel well.

Cats? Yes. Cats. Do they love him? Depends. But yes, cats.

Name: Texsi

Breed: Bouvier des Flandres (from Belgium!)

Hometown: Austin, TX

Personal life: Texsi spends a lot of time perfecting his squirrel-chasing skills.

Quirks: When he gets really excited, Texsi jumps straight up into the air off of all four feet. All 75 pounds of his shagginess.

Cats? Texsi only really loves the three cats he lives with, and they love him.