Daniel Jones Cooper and Bea hope to extend their string of victories.

Neither Daniel Jones Cooper of Highland Park nor Bea, his friend and constant companion, have been in show business very long, but the acclaim has come fast.

That's dog show business, by the way.

And Bea, Cooper's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is undefeated in the three shows in which she has participated. This weekend, they hope to keep the string alive at a show at Astro Hall in Houston.

Bea, obviously fair of face and form, will be judged on her bodily structure, appearance and movement. It would be a rare feat for her to complete a sweep of four straight championships.

The goal is to "show Bea in the best possible light," Cooper said. To do this successfully, he took three handling classes a week. Unlike most show dog owners, Cooper decided to train the dog himself.

"I facilitated the knowledge and implemented it myself," said Cooper. Besides the handling classes, Cooper also read 11 books about the art of showing dogs.

The training and research paid off with a victory at a dog show in San Antonio earlier this month at which Bea won the most possible points possible for her breed. Not only did she win "Best of Winners," but she also earned "Best Opposite Sex."

The breed is fairly rare, especially in the United States, partly because of their relative high cost, Cooper said. A pet quality dog could run $2000, and show dogs more.

Although Bea is a decorated show dog, Cooper loves her for more than just that.

"There's an unconditional love between us. We go almost everywhere together - we're joined at the hip, as the saying goes," said Cooper.

Cooper also has two other dogs: Echo and Maggie. Echo is a retired championship show dog.

This September, Cooper is traveling to England to buy another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a mate for Bea. He hopes, with the coming of a litter, that at least one of the pups will be able to follow in their mother's paw prints.