As a veterinarian, I am often asked, “why do you raise and breed Standard Poodles?” I’d like to say it’s because Standards are a healthy breed of dog, or because they are great house dogs that don’t shed or yap at everything. I’d like to say it’s because they are the most intelligent breed of dog. The truth is I like the look of them—proud and elegant—when I walk down the street in New York it’s like walking with a celebrity.

As John Steinbeck said in his book “Travels with Charley”:
“For when Charley is groomed and clipped and washed he is as pleased with himself as is a man with a good tailor or a woman newly patinaed by a beauty parlor, all of whom can believe they are like that clear through. Charley’s combed columns of legs were noble things, his cap of silver blue fur was rakish, and he carried the pompom of his tail like the baton of a bandmaster.”