In the late 19th century, the publisher, Nikolai Leykin, was one of the first Dachshund breeders in Russia. He gave two of his puppies to a client, Anton Chekhov, who named them Bromine and Quinine, or Brom and Khina, for short.

Chekhov adored his Dachshies, but curiously, his best known and most anthologized short story featured a Pomeranian. In “Lady with a Dog,” the dog is used as an excuse for potential lovers to meet for the first time (Good call. A Dognition survey found that 82 percent of people feel more confident approaching an attractive person if they have their dog with them, and 65 percent said their perfect date included their dog). But we digress. Over the years, Bromine and Quinine had many litters, and twenty years later, one of their “grandpups” went to another Russian writer, Vladimir Nabokov. Nabokov did use Dachshunds in several of his novels, including “Lolita.”

“Let ’em Lie” Acrylic on Gessobord by Karen Mathison Schmidt
http://www.kmschmidtart.com
http://karenmathisonschmidt.blogspot.com