Did Napoleon have a dog? Is this it?
I have been asking that ever since I read an article on the weekend about a special dog winning all the awards in a National dog show. The breed is a “BARBET” and the story said Napoleon never went to battle without one.
I don’t recall ever reading that Napoleon had a dog.
So the online researching began. There was a famous “barbet” dog that apparently became a working member of the Grande Armee…but he didn’t belong to Napoleon.
I know Josephine had little dogs, one of which was famous for biting Napoleon.
Then I read a Newfoundlander saved Napoleon’s life…..that was news to me. Is that a myth? Not sure.
I also found an article saying Napoleon had a special dog on St. Helena.
I found a Napoleon quote about finding a dog while inspecting the aftermath of a battle. Sad quote indeed.
Finally, I found a picture of a stuffed dog that was supposedly Napoleon’s and it was posed next to his stuffed horse at the Musee L’Armee in Paris. I saw the horse…did not see a dog.
Did he have a dog? I am still unsure.
The Barbet Link
A decade ago there were just 600 or so barbet in the world, a French hunting waterdog so renowned for their calm temperament and undying devotion to their masters, Napoleon Bonaparte had one by his side at all times, even in battle.
The Newfoundlander
Napoleon Bonaparte owed his life to a nameless Newfoundland. As Bonaparte fled the island of Elba in 1815, where he was exiled, choppy seas pitched him overboard. A fisherman's dog jumped in after the drowning despot and kept him afloat. Napoleon lived to experience his own defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. CNN LIVING
"When Napoleon was on St. Helena he had a black and white dog called 'Sambo' - it had its ears cut off, in the Chinese style, and looked more like a seal. After Napoleon's death in May 1821 the dog was taken back to Europe by Countess Bertrand and her children." Napoleonguide.com
The Very Sad Dog Quote
“This soldier, I realized, must have had friends at home and in his regiment; yet he lay there deserted by all except his dog. I looked on, unmoved, at battles which decided the future of nations. Tearless, I had given orders which brought death to thousands. Yet here I was stirred, profoundly stirred, stirred to tears. And by what? By the grief of one dog.
Napoleon Bonaparte, on finding a dog beside the body of his dead master, licking his face and howling, on a moonlit field after a battle. Napoleon was haunted by this scene until his own death.”
― Napoleon Bonaparte
― Napoleon Bonaparte
7 comments:
What fun to find this blog when I was looking for the way Napoleon influenced French cuisine. When you are in Europe next check out the huge collection of memorabilia made another Napoleon addict which is in the archives of this lovely place..http://www.morrablibrary.org.uk/
Thank you Liz...I am going to add that to my "life to-do" travel list!
Hi Carmi,
Dogs are often pictured as traveling and living with the Grande Armee in pictures and writing. You can see Barbets (which also seemed to be a catch phrase for dogs in the army, as well as a specific breed) in paintings and drawings of life in the French army during the Napoleonic Wars. There is a famous painting by Vernet of a soldier and drummer treating a wounded dog in the midst of battle.
It seems to me I've seen drawings of Napoleon with a dog, though he is said to have hated cats--one of his few flaws! ;-)
You probably saw this page already:
http://moustache-empire.pagesperso-orange.fr/le_barbet_chien_prefere_des_grognards.htm
Thanks for the link! I did see it and was really interested in this dog breed I had never heard of. If Napoleon had a special dog....I assumed we would know the name...and then wouldn't that dog be very popular!
It's seems reasonable that he did have a dog. We know he used them for hunting and there are domestic pictures of his family with dogs. And there supposedly is a stuffed dog in Les Invalides though apparently it isn't with the stuffed horse anymore.
Two links with pics, including a video from the museum.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3231
That dog looks a little like a Labrador.....
It does, not a Barbet certainly! But it seems the Barbet are mostly associated with the rank and file infantrymen.
I suspect the dog may have been part of his entourage but if he had a dog he was close to I think you're right we would have heard much more about it--including its name.
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