We Paps are top dogs in and out of the ring, but the most famous show dog in our breed’s history was Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being (aka Kirby). To this day, Kirby is the winningest Papillon in the history of our breed. Not only that, Kirby is the only dog ever to win 3 major international dogs shows in the span of one year! He took Best in Show at The World Dog Show in Helsinki in 1998, The Royal Invitational in Canada in 1998, and The Westminster Dog Show in the US in 1999. We may be little dogs, but we are big winners!

We Papillons are the ultimate companion dogs – it’s what we were bred for! My earliest ancestors (variously known as Continental Toy Spaniels, Dwarf Spaniels, and Epagneul Nain) were beloved by European royalty. I can trace my history back as early as the 16th century, when my ancestors (alongside their royal humans) first began appearing in works of art by some of Europe’s most renowned painters. My early ancestors had drop ears, and today’s drop-eared Paps are called Phalène (which means “moth” in French). My signature erect ears, which look like the wings of a butterfly, didn’t become popular until the end of the 19th century. That is when we got the name Papillon, which means “butterfly” in French. We Papillons and our ancestors had always been popular with European aristocrats. Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette were both Pap parents! Because of our association with royalty, we were almost wiped out after the French Revolution because the people of France considered us a symbol of the