Disappearing Dogs along the Danube

Last year whilst enjoying a city break with my wife in Italy I explored the way florentine artists and sculptors had used our canine companions in their works. So this year when we had chance to travel to Hungary i thought it was an opportunity once again to seek out a few examples of dogs in art and stone from around the fine city of Budapest. How wrong I was. Although rich in pieces of public sculpture and art, examples of dog statues seemed few and far between. We did see plenty of pet dogs around the city several Bichon Frise and Shar Pei. There seems to be a custom of walking dogs without leads, testament perhaps to good training methods used by local owners.  

I have learnt to be subtle in my quest to seek out dog monuments as my wife has caught on to the fact that i will trek miles and end ways in my searching. She loves dogs but the barking and scampering variety; dog sculptures are not her thing. So this time, rather than leave it to chance, i decided to use the internet first to discover if and where I could find statues of dogs around the city. I was pointed in the direction of two sites. Firstly I noticed there existed a really sweet statue in bronze simply entitled, Girl with Dog, to be found close to the cafe France on the river embankment. As this was meters away from where we were due to embark on a short river-cruise I felt I could comfortably sneak off for a couple of minutes to snap a photo of the work. It took longer than a couple of minutes in fact after 25 minutes I had still seen neither hide nor hair of the little rascal. I returned to where I'd left my wife , by this time stamping her foot demanding a latte machiatti to placate her for being kept waiting. I explained what i was about and that said dog was not evident. She joined me, with my tablet containing photo of missing mutt, to assist in the search. Well, we found the lamp-post around which the bench should have been, on which the girl should have been sat, playing with her pet. It just wasn't there. I approached a young chap in a red tee shirt trying to entice passing tourists into the nearby cafe. Did he know the location of the statue of Girl with her dog? Yes, he did but it had been removed at Christmas when the city council decided to renew the paving slabs along this short stretch of the promenade through Vigoti Square. The statue had not been reinstated although another statue of a little princess, along the railings of the adjacent tramway, was by the same sculptor and was "very fine." Fine, it may have been but unless the little princess was a cocker spaniel I wasn't particularly interested. So that was failure number one. The next day we were on the city bus-tour passing through Elizabeth Square, the location identified , on the Web, for Budapest's famous Doberman statues. These should be really impressive! Two statues, each standing over twelve feet high, constructed on a metal frame out of wooden blocks by the modern hungarian sculptor, Gabor Miklos Szoke. We arrived at midday at this central location. We couldn't find the dobermans. I spotted three dachshunds and two greyhounds having 'walkies' but definitely no dobermans. I sort out a tour guide. The dobermans had indeed been there but as they were redeveloping the whole park area the statues had been removed, foiled again!

 However faithful reader before you gasp in despair I must reveal that my journey was not a total disaster for on the third day we were approaching the grand edifice which was once the royal palace on Buda hill. Approaching the building one sees a fine baroque fountain flanking one of the wings of Buda Castle. The Matthias Fountain (Mátyás kút), probably Budapest's most famous fountain was designed in 1904 by Alajos Stróbl. It depicts a scene from the legend of King Matthias and the beautiful peasant girl Ilonka. Rather brutish for modern taste it shows the king sat in triumph over a stag accompanied by his four hounds. One the right is the Italian chronicler, Galeotto Marzio who lived in King Matthias' court. A large deer-hound is resting at his feet and a falcon sits on his arm. We learnt that after much of the palace was destroyed in the second world war it was not until 2010 that the fountain was put back in its original state; I suppose we must consider ourselves lucky that these statues were restored at the same time!

Then on our final day would you believe I managed to locate a brand new statue, unveiled as recently as March 2014. It is of a Bassett hound and his equally famous owner, the legendary star of the TV crime series, Colombo. Yes, amazing as it is, there is a statue of the actor Peter Falk and his doggie companion only a stones throw from the St. Margaret island bridge. It is on the corner of a street aptly named Falk Miksa utca in Budapest’s District V and which was named after a 19th century Hungarian academic, newspaper editor and politician. According to the urban legends, he was the great grandfather of Peter Falk, whose jew ancestors – as it is written in Falk’s autobiography - came from Eastern Europe.

It sounds great but the problem is that there no any evidence for this. Nevertheless the statue made by Géza Fekete, a sculptor who conveniently lives just across the road, was commissioned because of Columbo's continuing popularity on Hungarian TV.  For the quiz enthusiasts among you, what was Columbo's dog called? No idea? Well, believe it or not it was Dog. Pathetic isn't it? all those little grey cells to solve crime and he couldn't even bother to give his dog a proper name.

The King's Pooch

For centuries man's best friend has also proved popular around the corridors of the world's grandest houses and palaces. From ancient times members of many royal households have lived alongside dogs of all shapes and sizes. 

Many were regarded as high-status symbols. For example, in Imperial China the Emperor was the only person allowed to own a PEKINESE and the death penalty awaited anyone foolish enough to try and steal one. An ancient breed they can be traced back to the Han Dynasty 206 BC - 220 AD. 'Lion dogs,' as they were known, were kept in great numbers at the courts but only the finest were allowed into the Emperor's private chambers. It was only after 1860 that this breed emerged in Europe

 Similarly in Tibet only the highest dignitaries in the land were permitted to own certain breeds. The LHASA APSO is believed to be one of the world's oldest breeds possibly dating as far back as 800BC. Developed from the Tibetan Terrier and the Tibetan Spaniel they were bred exclusively at monasteries and only rarely permitted to leave the country. A few were given away as special gifts, usually to other royalty, and were always male so that reproduction of the species remained under Tibetan control. As in China with the pekinese the LHASA APSO were revered as lions. They provided protection for Buddha and guarded monastic treasures, participating in religious ceremonies whilst enthroned on silk cushions. 

The SALUKI was considered "the royal dog of Egypt". In ancient Egypt, their bodies were sometimes mummified alongside their royal owners. The Saluki is a 'sight hound,'  is very fast with a reputation as a strong hunter capable of taking down prey like gazelles.

The BICHON FRISE was re-introduced to Europe from the Canary Islands in the 14th century and by the 16th century they became fashionable at the French and other royal courts like several of the toy breeds. 

Although the BRUSSELS GRIFFON were first described in medieval french writings they were a favourite of the Belgian royal family. The late Queen Astrid loved these little dogs which almost became extinct after the First World War but because of royal support regained popularity in the 1930s.

Already well-established in other European courts, before being brought into England in the late 1500s, CAVALIER "KING CHARLES" SPANIELS reached the height of popularity with Charles II.  However, Elizabeth 1 and Mary Queen of Scots had also kept them and just before her execution at Fotheringay Castle in 1587 one dog, hidden under Mary's skirts, was not discovered by the executioner until after her death. As well as companions they were known for their tenacity and sporting ability. The first Duke of Marlborough developed some of the larger sporting dogs and it is from these the BLENHEIM spaniel evolved.

The PUG became extremely popular in Victorian times yet again many european royals had been championing the breed for years. Their patrons included Henry II of France, Marie Antoinette and The Empress Josephine. Originally from the Orient they were brought to the West by merchants trading with China. It is thought that the breed was introduced into Great Britain by William III and Queen Mary when they ruled this country in 1689. George III's wife kept pugs of german origin. Queen Victoria, an avid dog lover, had a particular favourite named Bully, a fawn dog, which was a present from Prince Albert. In the mid-twentieth century they found favour again with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Some royal pets have even merited their own portraits in various palace collections. When Queen Victoria’s COLLIE, Noble, died at Balmoral in 1887, he was buried in the grounds of the castle and given his own gravestone, which read:

'Noble by name by nature noble too

Faithful companion sympathetic true

His remains are interred here.'

Caesar, a WIRE FOX TERRIER was a devoted companion to Edward VII. He was allowed to sleep on a chair next to the King’s bed and even wore a collar that read “I am Caesar.  I belong to the King”.  After King Edward VII’s death in 1910, Caesar attended the funeral and walked in the procession ahead of nine Kings and several other heads of state.

The current Queen is, of course, associated with the CORGI. The breed was introduced to the Royal Family by her father, King George VI, in 1933 when he bought a Corgi called Dookie. The animal proved popular with both princesses and soon a second Corgi was acquired called Jane who had puppies, two of which, Crackers and Carol, were kept.

For her eighteenth birthday, The Queen was given a Corgi named Susan from whom numerous successive dogs were bred. Some Corgis were mated with dachshunds (most notably Pipkin, who belonged to Princess Margaret) to create ‘Dorgis’. At present, The Queen owns two Corgis: Willow and Holly and two Dorgis: Candy and Vulcan.

As far as other royals are concerned Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall own several JACK RUSSELL TERRIERS including the Prince's favourite, "Tigga" 

Princess Anne has owned a string of BULL TERRIERS although a couple of them have, over the years, attracted notoriety in the press for unwarranted attacks on other dogs. 

The latest royal pooch to hit the headlines belongs to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and is Lupo, a black COCKER SPANIEL. He was adopted by the couple just before Christmas 2011 from a litter allegedly born to the Middleton family dog, Ella.  The dog replaced a black LABRADOR named Widgeon, who was given to Prince William by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, shortly before her death in 1997. 

Lupo also achieved some notoriety recently when a story in one newspaper revealed that Lupo had eaten a pair  of pearl earrings given to the Duchess by Prince William. However, this rumour was swiftly quashed by a royal spokesman so it seems Lupo's reputation is safe: for the moment at least.