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Dog Statues

They are frozen in time and sometimes deceptively real. Perpetuated in stone or bronze, looking over

water, streets, parks or squares, dog statues can be found all over the world.

Published in The Canine Chronicle, www.caninechronicle.com

Dog Writer and Contributing Editor of Dog Magazines

JUST NUISANCE

A Great Dane (1937-1944) became an Official Sailor of the Royal Navy in Simon Town, South Africa. A bronze statue of Jean Doyle reminds us at a remarkable dog.

MICK THE MILLER (1926-1939)

“The greatest Greyhound of all time”. A life-sized bronze was placed on the Village Green in Killeigh, Ireland. The story of Micks life, an outstanding racing talent.
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If you are interested in publishing one or more of these articles, illustrations and photographs included please contact me. E-mail: horter@tiscali.nl All articles are available in English and/or in Dutch.
1. Dog catching Frisbee 2. Dogstatues in Spain - Canary Islands 3. Fala the Scotties Terrier of President Roosevelt 4. French Pointing Dogs 5. Halali 6. Just Nuisance 7. King William of Wurttemberg and German Spitz 8. Mick the Miller 9. Patsy Ann 10. Pug memorial in Winnenden 11. Ruswalp, Border Collie 12. Ulmer Dog
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HALALI – Hunting Monument all over the world

Many castings were made of this hunting statue and the monument became known under various names. The French names came first: Le Chausseur et les Chiens (Hunter and Dogs) or Valet au Chiens (The Dogs’ Attendant). In Australia, the name is Huntsman and Dogs; in the U.S., Hunter and Hounds; in Austria, Der Lauscher (The Eaves- dropper); and in The Netherlands, Halali.

RUSWARP, Border Collie

On the southbound plat- form of Garsdale’s train sta- tion is a life-size bronze statue of a Border Collie named Ruswarp. The statue is placed so that Ruswarp appears to be looking in the direction of the hills where he had walked so often with his master.

PUG MEMORIAL IN WINNENDEN, GERMANY: FORTUNATIS

Winnenden is a city of about 30,000 people, situated in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany. A memorial in front of the Winnental Palace is probably unique: the stone sculpture commemorates the Pug owned by Karl Alexander (1684-1737), Duke of Württemberg- Winnental from 1698 to 1737. The Mopsendenkmal (Pug memorial) shows Fortunatis, born in 1713, whose name means “fortunate one.” The epitaph on the monument tells the story of Fortunatis’s unbelievable adventure. The story behind the memorial Born in the city of Stuttgart, Karl Alexander spent his childhood with his siblings in Castle Winnental in Winnenden. A born soldier; he fought in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14) and served as field marshall in the service of the Austrian Emperor Charles VI of Habsburg (1685-1740). Karl and Charles had the same goal: to chase the Turks out of Europe. Karl took part in campaigns in different parts of Europe; for example, his army liberated large parts of the Balkans from the Turkish supremacy. In 1717 when he left his castle in Winnenden for the final battle against the Turks in Belgrade, he decided to bring his favorite dog Fortunatis – the “court Pug” – with him. On August 17, 1717, the Duke and Fortunatis were present at the conquest of the city but, in the heat of battle the duke and his dog were separated. While Karl Alexander celebrated the victory in the company of fellow generals, Fortunatis wandered around searching for his master. Karl Alexander assumed that Fortunatis had died. After all, a battlefield is not a safe place for a small dog. But the Pug survived; in a journey of 11 days, Fortunatis allegedly walked back to Winnenden, a distance of about 745 miles (1,200 kilometres).

Patsy Ann

‘The official greeter’ of Juneau, Alaska. The statue of a stone-deaf Bull Terrier is one of the mostphotographed dog statues in the world. The terrier, Patsy Ann, is immortalized on the quay of Juneau, Alaska, on the spot where she greeted thousands of cruise ship passengers during the 1930s and early ‘40s. Patsy Ann was born in Portland, Oregon on October 12, 1929. She arrived in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, as a pup with her owner Dr. Kaser (or Kayser). Although Patsy Ann was well cared for, first by her owner and later by the Rice family, she was not content to be a house pet. She scavenged all over the streets and was particularly attracted to the harbors, where the cruise ships moored and tourists disembarked.

ULMER DOG, Brussel

A bronze statue of a Great Dane stands in the southwest corner of the Jubel Parc (Parc du Cinquantenaire) in Brussels. Ulmer Dog seems to be the popular name, but Le Chien (The Dog) and Le Chien Vert (The Green Dog) are used as well. The Dog is a bronze statue commissioned by the city of Brussels and created in 1869 from a plaster model by Jean-Baptiste Van Heffen (1840-ca.1890). Englishe Dogge and Dänische Dogge “Big, heavy dogs” used mainly for hunting big game could be found all over medieval Europe. The par force hunt was a popular pastime at the European royal courts, with sometimes 80 to 100 armored dogs participating. In the 1600s, heavy dogs, rather high on leg, were exported from England to central Europe; in Germany, these imports were known as Englishe Doggen (English mastiffs). A German type developed in the 17th century, and by the beginning of the 18th century, their descendants had become regional types – for example, the Ulmer Dogge, a large, heavy dog with a black or black-and-white coat for the most part, named after the town of Ulm in southern Germany. Another type, called the Dänische Dogge (Danish mastiff), had a fawn, Isabella or brindle coat, and was smaller and lighter than the Ulmer Dogge. In the 19th century, the term Englishe Dogge was still in use, but changed gradually to Deutsche Dogge (German mastiff), then to Great Dane. One of the first dog shows in Germany took place in Hamburg, in 1863. Eight Dänische Doggen and seven Ulmer Doggen were entered. In 1869, 15 Danish and 12 Ulmer Doggen were entered at a show in Altona, one of the most important harbours in Denmark until 1865, now a suburb of Hamburg.

FRENCH POINTING DOGS

Excellent Trackers Toward the end of the 19th century, the other pair of dogs immortalized at Chantilly were known as Batârds Normands- Poitevins. “Normand” refers to the now-extinct Chien Normand. Also in 1957, its name was changed to Chien Français Tricolore. They represent the other movement in the French vénerie: slow, quiet and cautious dogs, excellent trackers with a low voice. Both types of hounds were represented in the packs of the different kings Louis, and later of Napoleon Bonaparte. The hunts became known as the vèneries impériales. Together with the castle of Fontainebleau, Chantilly was the epicenter of the French royal hunts. During the reigns of Louis XIII, Louis XIV and Louis XV, royal hunts became expeditions of unequaled grandeur. Louis XIII was a talented hound breeder, especially when it came to crossbreeding. At the age of 72, Louis XIV still hunted on horseback, while Louis XV left his palace three times a week to hunt deer with a pack of hounds. The Chateau de Chantilly could, like the palaces of the kings and the castles of the aristocracy, accommodate hundreds of horses and dozens of packs. The bronze Batârd Normand-Poitevin couple have an identifying mark on the right flank – an inverted triangle, the mark of the royal packs. In France, such identifying marks are still in use. Once or twice a year, the mark is clipped into the dog’s coat. It’s quite extraordinary that we know the names of the dogs and breeds: Fanfaraut and Brillador are Batârds Normands- Poitevins; Lunineau and Seduisant are Batârds du Haut-Poitou. Without any doubt they were important dogs. In the Condé Museum there is a painting of Fanfaraut by French dog painter François Desportes (1661-1743). Desportes