Holmes himself has not had a single pet in his entire life. Therefore, the expression “Sherlock Holmes dogs” sounds somewhat inappropriate. But, in his own words, he repeatedly resorted to their help, and one of such cases is described in the novel of Sir A. K. Doyle - “The Sign of Four”. There is also the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, directly related to a hefty dog trained to kill by smell. These works, and more precisely, about the dog breeds that appear in them, will be discussed in our article.
A bit about the personality of Holmes
In general, the famous detective gravitated little to such superfluous, as he said, excesses in life, like pets. The same can be said of everything else that is not related to solving the secrets of the investigation, various puzzles and other riddles. For years he could write works on how ink made at different factories, tobacco grown on different plantations, dirt and soil located in opposite corners of London and its environs differ among themselves, etc. But at the same time, being an expert in chemistry , he did not even suspect the structure of our solar system, until on this occasion he was enlightened by Dr. Watson, amazed by this fact.
Holmes and dogs
What can we say about pets. For all the time, we saw only the two most significant Sherlock Holmes dogs, if you can call them that. Although the first, which appears in the "Treasures of Agra", was a mongrel and belonged to the owner of one of the two-story houses located "in the lower part of Lambert on the Pinchin Lane" - a certain scribbler Sherman. The second, which frightened the people in the story “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” and torn to pieces on the orders of Dr. Stapleton the offspring of the Baskervilles themselves, also did not differ in the purity of the breed. But let us begin with the “Sign of the Four,” since the work comes first in chronological order.
Toby dragged on the smell of creosote
This small dog appears in the 7th chapter of the first part of the book. When investigating the murder of Bartholomew Sholto, there was one strange type in the case, a native from Central Asia. He was hardly the height of a 10-year-old child, he was very nimble, could climb into any gap and shot through the tube with poisoned arrows. But he made a small mistake stepping into a puddle with creosote in the attic of the house.
It was here that the first noteworthy Sherlock Holmes dog, a dog named Toby, comes onto the scene. When the crime scene inspection was completed, another monologue occurred between Holmes and Watson, an excerpt from which we quote (says Holmes):
... When you take Miss Morsten, please go to Lambeth, Pinchin Lane, 3. This is on the very shore. In the third house on the right hand there lives a scarecrow named Sherman, he stuffs stuffed birds. In its window you will see a weasel holding a rabbit. Wake Sherman, say hello from me and tell him that I need Toby immediately. Take Toby and bring him here.
- This is a dog?
- Yes, such a funny dog, not a purebred, but with a striking scent. I prefer to use the help of Toby than all the detective forces of London ...
Watson goes on the wanted list for house number 3 in Lambert, and after long wanderings finds the same one. The door opens to him, embittered by the whole world, but after hearing the name of the famous detective, after a short monologue he gives the doctor an unusual little dog for rent. What breed of dog is Sherlock Holmes, walking in our peculiar ranking number one? Here is what Sir Conan Doyle himself writes about her:
... Toby turned out to be a little freak, long-haired and long-eared, a cross between a spaniel and a Scottish bloodhound. He was brown and white, and he had a ridiculous, awkward gallop gait. After some hesitation, he took from me a piece of sugar given to me by an old naturalist, and, having thus entered into an alliance with me, without any persuasion, he followed me into a cab ...
It was through the magnificent scent of this dog that Holmes and Watson, after some looping around the city, were able to trace the path of the attackers to a house located near one of the quays on the river. Thames. After the dog was returned to the owner and more about it in no story or story was mentioned.
Dog - the killer of the offspring of the Baskervilles
Another dog of Sherlock Holmes can with a stretch be called the famous Hound of the Baskervilles. Here, the famous detective and his assistant chronicler had to solve a case related to family inheritance. One of the distant relatives of the Baskervilles, a certain doctor Stapleton, with the help of a man trained to kill people by the smell of a giant dog, eliminated applicants for inheritance who claimed the right to inherit.
Killing all who were in front of him, Stapleton expected to get the coveted Baskerville estate, located among the swamps and bogs. This place is not very attractive, but in view of its precarious financial situation, one did not have to choose. He kept the killer dog in the swamp wilderness in a specially equipped kennel, the path which only he knew and his dog knew. The legend said that over the Baskervilles for a long time evil rock has been humbling, and for some sins on their kind a hellish dog was allegedly sent down to kill all the offspring.
Stapleton was extremely resourceful and, for the sake of horror, smeared his dog's face with phosphoric solution, which made her glow demonically in the dark. Seeing such a creature in the night was a huge shock.
This Sherlock Holmes dog was also not a noble breed. Here is how her author describes when she was finished with 6 shots fired from a revolver of Holmes himself:
... The monster that lay before us could truly frighten anyone with its size and power. It was not a purebred bloodhound and not a purebred mastiff, but, apparently, a cross - a lean, scary dog the size of a young lioness. His enormous jaws still glowed with a bluish flame, wildly-seated wild eyes were surrounded by circles of fire ...
Thus, this mastiff was not a true thoroughbred dog. With whom his parents were crossed to create such a monster, he was also silent. What was the name of the "Sherlock Holmes dog" that he had just shot to save poor Sir Henry Baskerville, who she chased on the heels of the night on the road from the Stapleton’s house to the Baskervilles estate.
Conclusion
These are the most famous dogs that appeared on the pages of works about Sherlock Holmes. In other cases, the dog brethren plays the role of only an episodic plan and has nothing to do with the direct development of events. Of course, they cannot be called directly “Sherlock Holmes dogs,” but still animals deserve it, because without them there would have been no sensational stories about the great detective.