when Am. Ch. Great Elms Prince Charming II would win the elusive Best in Show at The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Ruth continued to breed Pomera- nians until she turned 94 years old. Since this article was first written, Ruth has joined her many wonderful Poms across the rainbow bridge at the age of 99 years old, on June 1, 2012. Among her many accomplishments mentioned above, Ruth also battled cancer and won, built her own kennel by hand, and found herself admired by many. Though Ruth never had any children, she was a mother figure to many. Among these is Ken Griffith of Lenette Poms. Ken adopted Ruth as a mother figure after the passing of his own mother. Laura Jennings is another, and is the caretaker of Ruth’s remaining Poms. Last, but certainly not least, is Maynard Wood who attributes his start in handling to Ruth. Among all those you talk to who knew Ruth well, a few things are consistent. She was well-respected, understood to be honest, helpful, and understanding and, most of all, she is well-loved. Many thanks go to Maynard Wood, Ken Griffith, and Laura Jennings who shared their beautiful memories of Ruth and helped tomake this article. T op N otch T oys , A pril /M ay 2021• 49
Ruth believed in breeding to the sire of a great dog. Her reasons were that the sire was the one who produced the qualities in the winning dog. The stamping technique comes into play when you take a dam of your own line and breed it to that win- ning dog’s sire. If the qualities you are seeking are produced in the lit- ter, then you take the offspring and bring it back into your line. In order to stamp the dog, you breed back to the sire in the third generation. This will stamp the look of that dog. Stamp- ing is something that some believe to be more challenging today due to the limited number of pure lines and the many out-crossings. Ruth’s ideal Pom had a huge red coat with a pretty head. Her dogs’ typical look carried a more foxy head, which was preferred by many back in the early days. She valued style, head car- riage, and outline. She had a knack for training her dogs well. As referred to earlier as her favorite Pom, her ideal was most well-represented in Ch. Great Elms Little Timstopper. After the passing of her mother, handling dogs became too much for Ruth. Among those who handled her dogs were Clara Alford and May- nard Wood. Ruth’s highest honor as a breeder would come in 1987
breeding, Ruth first looked at the overall condition of the dam. Then she evaluated the dam and the sire to match up their qualities while also taking into consideration the pedi- gree. As far as Ruth was concerned, the sire did not necessarily need to be a champion, as long as he was the best choice for that dam. When breeding within her own lines, she believed the outcome was representative of the grandparents rather than the parents. Though her original preference was the smaller, prettier, four-pound dams, she grew tired of the c-sections and losing mothers during the surger- ies. (During those times, there was a high risk of losing girls due to the lack of veterinary knowledge.) Through these experiences, Ruth molded her philosophy that she would later pass down to other breeders, stating to never breed a girl under five pounds. Her ideal was five to six pounds of bet- ter quality. Though many of her girls could have become champion bitches, they were never shown because she needed them in her program. Instead, Ruth focused mostly on finishing her males. Those who are most familiar with Ruth associate her breeding philoso- phy with a technique called “stamp- ing.” As a breeder of her own line,
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