Our proficiency at French would never compel Gomez to kiss the length of our arm, but our reading tells us that the correct pronunciation of “Löwchen” is “lerv-chun.”

The origin of these little dogs with the huge heart origins is a source of contention with historians who can’t agree on where it’s from: It’s name is German, but for women of noble birth in Holland, Italy, France, Russia, and Spain, these dogs have been favorites since the Middle Ages. A few cynologists believe Löwchen originated in the Mediterranean region and are directly related to Bichon type breeds, others hold fast to the notion that the breed was set in Russia and even the area that is now Tibet.