OY WITH THE POODLES ALREADY!

 


Many different things have been popular over the years of human existence, but in the 1950s one breed of dog inspired a trend.  Poodle haircuts and poodle skirts decorated fashionable ladies.  Above all other dogs was a poodle named Masterpiece. But Masterpiece, a celebrity in his own right, disappeared. Not from public esteem like other celebrities but actually disappeared, never to be heard from again. Masterpiece inspired a mini mania in the 1950s, but is largely forgotten today.


Alexis Pulaski, born 1895 in Russia, fled to the U.S. post Russian Revolution. He began breeding dogs in 1925, but began focusing on poodles exclusively in 1939. He took one pup, silver gray, named him Pulaski's Masterpiece, and entered him in dog shows. Masterpiece won the American Kennel Club trifecta : obedience, utility, and championship. Suddenly Masterpiece was a celebrity. Reporters would ask Masterpiece if he was a communist - Masterpiece would shake his head no - a red-blooded American dog patriot. Pulaski wholeheartedly embraced Masterpiece's fame. Masterpiece was trained by a former Bronx Zoo lion trainer. He traveled with an entourage of a beautician, bodyguard, and professional traveling companion. Masterpiece appeared in Vogue and modeled in ads for hosiery, shoes and telephones.


Masterpiece was quite the stud - literally. Pulaski charge $500 for a ... session with Masterpiece. Judy Garland, Gary Cooper and Ava Peron owned pups sired by Masterpiece (why doesn't Evita have a song about that?) One celebrity wanted Masterpiece for herself - Rita Hayworth. Her husband, Prince Aly Khan, offered Pulaski $20,000 for Masterpiece, but Pulaski refused. On March 29, 1953 Pulaski stepped out of his New York City shop, Poodles Inc. When he returned Masterpiece was nowhere to be seen. Masterpiece had wandered away before, but was returned soon after. Pulaski prided his dogs for being so well behaved they didn't need to be leashed or caged. A witness told Pulaski he had seen "a dark-haired woman in a red coat" leave the shop with a poodle trailing after her. The world's most valuable dog was now officially considered missing.


Rewards were offered for Masterpiece's safe return. Pulaski offered a poodle as well as reward money. Volunteers search New York City and police issued a 13 state "dog hunt." Pulaski and police waited a ransom call that never came. Pulaski died in 1968, his Masterpiece never returned to him. Pulaski stated "stealing that dog is like stealing the Hope Diamond."


SOURCES :

Mead, Jackie. The Mysterious  of Masterpiece the Poodle." Mental Floss, 16 October 2021. 

Pulaski's Masterpiece. Wikipedia.

FURTHER MEDIA : 

Masterpiece the Dog ~ Drunk History


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