The Poodle interest developed in the early 1970s when I had a "bush" airplane and wanted a dog companion which loved the water, could be protective, and didn't shed. I wanted a dog to go fishing with me, travel to Montana in the airplane, and live in my house. During my years in school, internship and residency I had owned Chihuahuas which no longer seemed to fit into the lifestyle that I was developing. Reviewing the literature about the characteristics of various breeds of dogs (I initially thought that I wanted a Labrador Retriever, but the shedding issue was a real turn-off) it came down to a Standard Poodle. My first Poodle, Danny, was a brown hyperactive boy who was epileptic, had multiple missing teeth, was cryptorchid and had an umbilical hernia. He was a complete college education for me regarding what NOT to do when picking a puppy. Danny was followed by Jeannie, Ch Nevermore Harlow, CD TP, who was simply wonderful. Jeannie's first litter, bred to Ch Dalwynne Tuppany Dramatics UDT, produced several conformation champions including my first home bred champion, Ch Cosmic Apogee UDT (Pogo). Pogo was my "be all and end all" and is an ancestor of most of the Cosmic Poodles in existence today. Pogo was a dream to train and was the inspiration for my interest in obedience, agility, field work, tracking, breeding, education of Poodle people and the founding of Versatility in Poodles.