Shirley Patterson only left the shopping bags for a few minutes -- just enough time for the three Yorkshire Terriers to dismantle the Q-tip box, spread cotton swabs all over the floor, and cover them with a slippery layer of plastic sandwich bags. When Patterson returned to the kitchen, she slipped on the bags and yelled in exasperation at her three pretty little terriers who gazed at her in adoration, Q-tips stuck to their coats by static electricity.

They get into such mischief, then they look at you with those sweet faces and sparkling eyes like you are the queen of their world. You just can't stay mad at them, says Patterson, a Yorkshire Terrier breeder in Pottstown, Pa., and vice president of the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America.

Feisty and funny, glamorous and goofy, the Yorkshire Terrier combines the best qualities of a terrier with the most charming characteristics of a toy breed. Excellent watchdogs, fiery foe to squirrels and mice, yet adoring and quiet companions on a lap and well-mannered travelers in the car or shoulder bag, Yorkshire Terriers know how to be your pal.

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