The Poodle Dethroned

In dogs as in Diors, fashions change from year to year, and the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show sets styles for the poochy set with no less authority than the Paris spring showing does for the best dressed. During the past six years, poodles have strutted off with Westminster's Best in Show prize four times. The result: a fabulous rise in poodle popularity. Seventh in 1956, with 25,041 American Kennel Club registrations, they have trebled in number, have been the U.S.'s most popular breed for the past two years.

Not Even Close. Last week, as 2,569 dogs of 116 varieties descended on Manhattan's Madison Square Garden in a Babel of yips, yaps and woofs (plus a screech or two from the barkless Basenji), poodles again rated as the top contenders for Westminster's top award. The dogs were benched beneath the Garden's main floor, surrounded by dog manicurists and hairdressers, fussing owners, and concessionaires who peddled everything from breath sweeteners and "No-Mate Tablets'' to life-size dog portraits ($35 and up). On the main floor, perfumed, powdered and pomaded pooches paraded in a dozen rings against a backdrop of purple and gold Westminster banners.

But in the finals, the silver cup and purple and gold rosette were snatched away from the poodles by a dog as unfashionable as high-button shoes: Ch. Elfinbrook Simon, a stubby, 11 1/2-in, 18-1b.

West Highland white terrier imported from Britain about two years ago by the Wishing Well Kennels of Little Falls, N.J. "No dog came near to him," said Judge Heywood R. Hartley, a Richmond, Va., printing company executive.

Quite a Relief. Westminster immediately brought Simon a windfall in dog food testimonials and television appearances. It also assured the West Highland terrier breed of an upsurge in popularity, though that can be a questionable blessing. "Popularity is a curse," says Handler Larry Carswell, a spaniel specialist. "People want to be able to say, I got one like the one that won at . . .' or 'This is a distant cousin of the one who won at . . .' There's indiscriminate breeding right away. Pretty soon you can buy one at Macy's." But Ch. Elfinbrook Simon is not one to put on the dog. When Simon was singled out as the year's best. Owner Barbara Worcester burst into tears of joy and relief. As for Simon, he padded over to the "Best in Show" sign and, with an air of aplomb that brought cheers from 10,000 spectators, found relief of a different sort.

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