Macon’s famous pink poodle draws crowds during Cherry Blossom Festival

A Macon couple continues a decades-long tradition of bringing their pink poodle to the Cherry Blossom Festival.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A pink poodle named Cherry is once again drawing attention during Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival, continuing a decades-long tradition that brings smiles to visitors and locals.

41NBC spoke with Cherry’s owners and pet groomers Alice and Paul Williams. They say bringing their poodle out every year brings joy to their lives.

The pet groomers say the idea of the pink poodle tradition started about 25 years ago after a weekend of dyeing their poodle pink and getting a reaction from the community. Paul Williams says people in Macon embraced it, and they have loved doing it every year since.

“But we do it for the smiles,” he said. “It gives somebody a break for a minute to not have to worry about what’s going on in the world. A little bit of time to love on a dog, and they say if you do that you will live longer. So, just being a part of the community and sharing.”

Paul and Alice were both born and raised in Macon. They are on their fourth poodle and say they do this for their community.

“Oh gosh! Everybody loves her; she’s a crowd stopper,” he said. “We can’t walk from here to a half a block without someone saying, ‘Hey, can we get a picture?’  Someone once said we charge for that, and I said, ‘No, then it wouldn’t be fun.'”

Williams explains what he hopes Miss Cherry does for Cherry Blossom visitors.

“Well, I hope that they remember that Macon is a wonderful town, and it’s full of wonderful people,” he said. “And even with our war, we’re the best place to live.”

If you want a chance to meet Miss Cherry, she will be on 3rd Street Tuesday and Wednesday between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. You may also get lucky and see her downtown or at Carolyn Crayton Park during the festival, which runs through Sunday.