128 



MISS R. ARMITAGE'S TEAM OF TOY WHITE POODLES. 

 Photograph by N. S. Kay, Manchester. 



CHAPTER XII. 

 THE POODLE. 



BY LEONARD W. CROUCH, LL.B. 



"A Poodle once towed me along, 

 But always we came to one harbour ; 

 To keep his curls smart, 

 And shave his hind part, 

 He constantly called on a barber." 



TOM HOOD. 



r I A HE Poodle is commonly acknow- 

 ledged to be the most wisely in- 

 telligent of all members of the 

 canine race. He is a scholar and a gentle- 

 man ; but, in spite of his claims of long 

 descent and his extraordinary natural clever- 

 ness, he has never been widely popular 

 in this country as the Collie and the Fox- 

 terrier are popular. There is a general 

 belief that he is a fop, whose time is largely 

 occupied in personal embellishment, and 

 that he requires a great deal of individual 

 attention in the matter of his toilet. It may 

 be true that to keep him in exhibition order 

 and perfect cleanliness his owner has need 



to devote more consideration to him than 

 is necessary in the case of many breeds; 

 but in other respects he gives very little 

 trouble, and all who are attached to him 

 are consistent in their opinion that there 

 is no dog so intensely interesting and respon- 

 sive as a companion. His qualities of mind 

 and his acute powers of reasoning are indeed 

 so great that there is something almost 

 human in his attractiveness and his devotion. 

 His aptitude in learning is never denied, 

 and many are the stories told of his mar- 

 vellous talent and versatility. 



Not merely as a showman's dog has 

 he distinguished himself. He is something 



