Happy New Year, my dear friends, 恭喜发财! This morning I’ve seen the wonderful iceskating performance of Savchenko and Massot, and on WeChat a New Year Greeting from my Chinese brother-in-law for the incoming Year of the Dog, and suddenly I knew: This is not to be the Year of some Whatever-Generic-Dog, I herewith declare it my very personal Year of the Poodle! Honoring the smartest and funniest dogs barking on this planet – in this combination: There are, maybe, smarter (border collie?) or funnier (pitbull? chihuahua?) dogs, but with smart and funny no one beats the common poodle.