Man's Best Friend ... of the Moment

Ricky Tic Tac, sometimes known as Champion Courtenay Fleetfoot of Pennyworth, pranced to immortality in Manhattan's Madison Square Garden last week as best dog in the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Ricky is a whippet, and the first of his breed ever to win the putative status of America's top dog.*

There are only 399 whippets registered in the U.S., and the breed ranks 58th in the roster of favorite U.S. dogs --well behind the first place poodles (147,055), and even behind such esoteric canines as Vizslas (589), schip-perkes (937) and keeshonden (989). And this, plus Ricky's triumph, puts whippets in the running for In dog.

Poodles were In once, but of course their popularity put an end to that. Inmost at present, at least with show folk, is the Yorkshire terrier, a minuscule puff of fierce fluff, first bred by sporting Yorkshiremen about 100 years ago to fight to the death with rats of equal size. These days Yorkies are more likely to be found in the arms of the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, June Havoc, Billy Wilder, Billy Rose, Sandra Dee and Fannie Hurst. But there are 2,592 Yorkshire terriers registered in the U.S.--a bit many for real snob appeal. Those who would really like to be first on their block with a new kind of canine can find something for almost every taste.

Art lovers may appreciate the perky papillon, painted by Fragonard, Boucher, Velasquez and Titian. Its name derives from its butterfly-like ears. Madame de Pompadour always carried one, Marie Antoinette took hers along to prison, and Edith Wharton brought papillons to the U.S., where currently there are 158 registered.

You can be the second person in the U.S. to own a registered Belgian Malinois, whose real name, le Malinois, chien de berger a poll court fauve charbonne, is the longest in dogdom. Apartment dwellers--or at least their neighbors--will favor the Basenji, a terrier-sized hunting dog once kept by the Egyptian pharaohs that never barks. But he whines, groans and gargles, and when happy makes a noise described as "a cross between a croon and a yodel." As for burglars--packs of Basenjis are used to hunt gorillas in their native Africa.

Melancholiacs may get a lift from the clownish affenpinscher, a tiny cross between a terrier and a Pekingese, whose funny face is wreathed in a perpetual smile. Nonconformists will appreciate a Rhodesian ridgeback, an African lion dog that must be patted from tail to head because his fur grows that way. Heavy drinkers might find use for a puli, a shaggy sheepherder famed for its ability to guide strays back into the fold. And antique collectors will want the world's oldest dog, the saluki, which appears in Sumerian carvings as early as 6000 B.C. The Arabs call him "el Hor" (the noble one), and use him to hunt gazelles. Saluki owners also have a readymade subject of conversation with Socialite Ceezee Guest--she has one too.

* And the second of category: hound. Only other hound to win best dog at Westminster since the club began the category in 1907 was an Afghan: Shirkhan of Grandeur in 1957.

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