Sniffer Dogs Credit: Nixxie-fic
There are a number of dogs Holmes uses to sniff out the case. The first is Toby in The Sign of Four who was ‘an ugly, long-haired, lop-eared creature, half spaniel and half lurcher, brown-and white in colour, with a very clumsy waddling gait’. There is also Pompey in ‘The Adventure of the Three Quarter’ who is something between a beagle and a foxhound.
In some of the stories dogs are used to protect the household and the owners inside. In ‘Silver Blaze’ Holmes realises the perpetrator must have been known to the household because the dog did nothing to prevent it.
In two other cases, the dog attacks its owner in defense: Carlo the mastiff in ‘The Copper Beeches’prowls the grounds at night to protect the home but in the end attacks Mr Rucastle. In ‘The Creeping Man’ the newfoundland is taunted by its transformed owner and attacks the professor.
There is a great scene in The Hound of the Baskervilles where Holmes and Watson compete to deduce a walking-stick left behind by their prospective client. Watson does not do very well, but Holmes works out that the owner of the stick must also have a terrier:
In ‘The Lion’s Mane’ a poor Airedale Terrier dies by the rock pool where his owner had died. It is presumed to have been through grief for his master, but Holmes knows better!
Holmes uses dogs occasionally for experimenting. The spaniel in ‘Shoscombe Old Place’ is upset to discover that the woman claiming to be Lady Beatrice is not his owner and thus proves a plot is afoot.
In Study in Scarlet Holmes euthanizes a very sick terrier in the name of science. He feeds the dog the pills Jefferson Hope uses on his victims to prove the method of murder.
Another experiment is performed on little Carlo, a spaniel, by Jack Ferguson in ‘The Sussex Vampire’. The dog is assumed to have spinal meningitis and is unable to walk. Holmes deduces that the young boy had experimented on the dog to test the poison darts he intends to use to kill his baby brother.
Lastly, the most famous dog in the whole of the Sherlock Holmes canon: the Hound of the Baskervilles.
‘an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame.’
The poor, mistreated dog is kept on the Devonshire Moors by the evil Stapleton and is painted in phosphorous to give it a demonic look. It scares Charles Baskerville to death, chases the murderer Selden to his fatal fall, and almost kills Henry Baskerville before Holmes stops him. It is a murder weapon and like his owner, meets a mortal end.
Sherlock Holmes Inspired Dog Names in Pop CultureFeatured Famous Dog With A Sherlock Holmes Inspired NameRoy
You cannot write about one of the most famous detectives of all time, and not pick up a thing or two yourself. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle proved this throughout his lifetime. He was an extraordinarily observant man, this quality helped him to make sense of things even when a situation was emotionally charged. He also loved his Collie, Roy, and would not let his furry friend be taken from him under any circumstances.
One day, Sir Doyle’s life was disrupted when his beloved Collie was accused of worrying sheep and killing them. This was a serious accusation in his community since farmers rely on the animals for their income. Mr Arthur Hale, the prosecutor, went straight over to Doyle’s house to sort out the matter. They had a few words, but the accusation did not hold any weight with Doyle for several reasons. The meeting ended amicably enough, and it seemed that it was the end of the matter. The matter was not going to die down, however, because a local farm boy, John Hornby, swore that he recognized Roy.
Eventually, the whole saga was taken to court to get it sorted out. Mr Hale was not about to let the famous writer get off the hook without a fight. In true Holmes-like fashion, Sir Doyle approached the bench with a few unmistakable facts. Roy had a good character, and if he wanted to kill sheep, he could have gone to the farm that was right next to Doyle’s estate. John was not close enough to reasonably determine whether it was Roy or not. He also pointed out that Roy had many different children in the village nearby.
He then presented the piece of evidence that blew the prosecutor’s case out of the water. Roy had been born with a common defect in his jaw. He could only eat the softest of foods. He also pointed out that Roy regularly spent time in a meadow with plenty of sheep and had never shown a tendency toward violence. He defended his dog by praising his gentle qualities and pulled on the heart strings of the court by telling them that Roy was his children’s playmate. Of course, Sir Doyle won the case and he could keep his gentle Collie. We don’t think anyone ever accused that precious animal of worrying sheep, in case they had to face Sir Doyle in court!
Sherlock Holmes Inspired Dog Name Considerations
The Sherlock Holmes books are some of the most popular books in history. Ever since they first hit the shelf, people fell in love with the main character. Sherlock Holmes is a genius who delights and entertains with hilarious wit. He is supported by a cast of strong characters who rival his own standing. Since the books are so popular, and there are so many of them, it really should be no wonder that they have inspired generations of writers, filmmakers and actors. If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan, then you have a lot of material to suit your tastes. Since there are so many movies and television shows about the world’s greatest detective, we have decided to make a dog name guide about the source material. A separate guide will be provided for the recent adaptations.
There is already so much to cover that one naming guide would not be able to please Sherlockians. In this name guide, we have collected the best names from the sixty books featuring the beloved character. Some of them will be taken from the short stories that feature his adventures. But rest assured, all the dog names will be related to the famous detective.
These Dogs Are Real Life Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes has a pet bulldog named Gladstone who performs such mild action as lying or sitting on the floor, being petted or briefly walking across the room. For this action, trainers placed the dog on its mark and cued it to perform the action, rewarding it right after. The actors who interacted with the dog were instructed on its proper handling before filming began.
American Humane Certified Animal Safety Representatives™ were unable to directly supervise all of the animal action in Sherlock Holmes because some of the animal action was filmed outside the U.S. and the production did not establish a contract for our oversight. American Humane did not monitor some of the dog action or any of the horse, camel, bird, fly and maggot action.