Who is that Mad dog?

I've been asked a number of times in the public forums of eGullet who my avatar is or what he is. I answered, but since it was off topic the posts were jerked. Only fair, but for those interested here is the story.

He is Rupert who is our 22 month old standard poodle puppy. All 38 kilos of him. He's a real delight and our third standard poodle.

The pictures were taken on a walk this spring just after we got our new camera. (a Nikon d50 so we can use our lenses) Roop was running around a meadow like a mad dog, just full of the joys of spring. Having a great time. I had a long lens on & just started snapping. Got some pretty good shots considering that Rupert was at full gallop. I like them anyway and decided to crop & use one as my avatar.

It's interesting that big standard poodles supposedly French are fairly rare here in France. Lots & lots of the small poodles, but not many standards. Rupert attracts a lot of attention when we take him to market with us. 'Quelle race est-il?' "Il est un caniche royal." 'Ah, tres, tres beaux chien. Est-il gentile? "Oh, oui il est tres gentile."

And so on. We meet a lot of nice people this way & its very good for our French.

Here's Rupert looking like the intelligent animal that he really is, not the mad puppy. Roop is a real foodie at heart. Just about his favorite thing is walnuts. He like to find them when they drop from the tree, carefully crack the shell, then eat the meat. He also likes to pick blackberries & wild plums in season. When I'm cooking he's never far away, not begging which isn't allowed, but just around just in case. An opportunist is our Roop. He's as big a cheese lover as I am.

Some day I'll post a strory about Roops predecessor, Kuno. Kuno was absolutely unique, I've never met another dog with as much presence as Kuno. But, that's a different story and I've got to start getting ready for our Italy trip.

ciao for now.