The unsolved mystery of Masterpiece the toy poodle, the world’s most valuable dog
This is the extraordinary tale of the toy poodle who transformed the breed into a symbol of glamour — before vanishing without a trace.
The poodle was not always the dog the world is obsessed with today. Then, suddenly, in the 1950s, the poodle became the dog to own. Elegant women hoisted them across Manhattan; department stores hosted poodle parades; society hostesses dressed them in ribbons and jewels. One American newspaper declared that when a girl ‘makes the big time she traditionally acquires three things — minks, gems, and a poodle.’ I’ve never wanted to make the big time more in my life. Some women even cut their hair short and fluffed it up, to resemble a poodle — including actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Today, poodles appear in Gucci campaigns, Mulberry shoots and on Mugler runways; Jeremy Scott once sent them down the catwalk at London Fashion Week. But behind their elaborate clips lies a surprisingly athletic, working dog. Most cynologists believe the poodle originated in Germany during the Middle Ages, where it was bred as a water retriever. Its name comes from the German pudel — ‘to splash in water’. Numerous German artworks from as early as the 17th century have poodle-like dogs in them — long before the breed was formally recognised by the Kennel Club in Britain, in 1874. Standard Poodles were the original hunting dogs, bred for retrieving waterfowl, while miniature and toy varieties were later bred down for companionship and specialised tasks, such as truffle hunting.
Plenty of people know poodles for their inventive hairstyles (or clips), but the origin of the craze was entirely practical. The traditional poodle clip was designed for swimming efficiency, with the legs and hindquarters shaved to reduce drag in the water, while pom-poms of fur protected the joints and vital organs from freezing temperatures. Over time, practicality turned into extravagance and nowhere embraced that extravagance more enthusiastically than Poodles, Inc.
Over time, the poodle evolved from sporting dog to status symbol and no dog did more to shape that transformation than a silver-grey toy poodle named Masterpiece. Masterpiece belonged to Count Alexis Pulaski, a mysterious Russian émigré who became utterly obsessed with the breed after looking after his friend Gilbert Kahn’s dogs in the late 1930s. Soon afterwards, he opened Poodles, Inc, on West 52nd Street in New York, just a few doors down from the famous 21 Club. It was part salon, part boutique, part luxury hotel for dogs. Clients could board their poodles while travelling, buy them accessories and choose from an extraordinary menu of hairstyles. Poodles, Inc. reportedly offered 16 different clips. There was the bouffant-inspired ‘Mae West’, the ‘Tom Collins’ flat top and even the ‘Sailor Clip’, designed to make a dog’s legs resemble bell bottoms. You could even give your poodle a moustache.
Then, in August 1946, Pulaski bred a litter that would change his life. One puppy immediately stood out: a grey toy poodle he named Pulaski’s Masterpiece. Pulaski adored him and once joked that Masterpiece looked like ‘Louis XVI posing for a portrait in his little grey wig’. I don’t disagree. The dog quickly became a New York celebrity. Masterpiece attended cocktail parties, featured in American Vogue, earned $25 an hour for modelling — reportedly more than some human models — and had his own bank account. He attended Paris Fashion Week and even travelled to Cuba as a goodwill ambassador. Rita Hayworth’s third husband, Prince Aly Khan, is said to have offered $25,000 for him — an astronomical sum at the time, and still today, but Pulaski refused. Before long, newspapers were calling Masterpiece ‘the world’s most valuable dog’.
The king on his throne.
His puppies went to stars including Judy Garland, Eva Perón and Gary Cooper, helping fuel America’s obsession with the breed. At one point, Masterpiece led a parade of 70 poodles down Fifth Avenue before taking his place on a green velvet throne in a department store window. Bud Boccone, managing editor of the American Kennel Club Gazette, believes the breed’s appeal lies in its complexity: ‘They’re beautiful animals, very smart but complex,’ he says. ‘That’s what makes them so companionable. They have a kind of human-like character.’
Then, in May 1953, Masterpiece vanished. Pulaski had briefly stepped downstairs at Poodles, Inc. When he returned, the dog was gone. A witness later claimed to have seen a dark-haired woman in a red coat leaving the shop with a small grey poodle calmly walking beside her, not on a lead. Because Masterpiece was so obedient and rarely barked, many believed he had simply followed her willingly. Newspapers across America reported on the disappearance. Groomers across New York were placed on alert. Thousands of leaflets were distributed and police in 13 states notified. Pulaski pleaded publicly for the dog’s return, reportedly saying: ‘Stealing a dog like that is like stealing the Hope Diamond.’
At the time, poodle thefts were increasingly common. Their popularity and value had made them targets. But no ransom note ever arrived. I can’t help but wonder whether Masterpiece had simply had enough of being New York society’s most photographed dog. Perhaps he fancied retiring quietly onto somebody’s sofa. Whatever happened, Pulaski never recovered from the loss and Masterpiece was never seen again.
A display dedicated to Masterpiece, complete with trophies, ribbons and a framed portrait celebrating the toy poodle once described as ‘the world’s most valuable dog’.
Almost a year later, a journalist visiting Poodles, Inc. described the shop as feeling like a memorial. Photographs of Masterpiece still lined the walls and, in one corner, his green velvet throne sat empty. Pulaski eventually closed the business and devoted himself to writing an encyclopaedia on the breed, Pulaski on Poodles. Sir Winston Churchill, himself a devoted poodle owner, is said to have requested a copy. Pulaski remained convinced that, beneath all the glamour and absurdity, ‘the poodle should be bred primarily as a pet, for temperament, willingness to please, and a radiation of charm.’
