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If Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists of all time, thought enough of the Volpino to own one, you know it is a unique dog.
The Volpino Italiano is a handsome, long-haired dog native to Italy. Small in stature, Volpino are just 10 to 13 inches at the shoulder. They weigh 9 to 12 pounds. The Volpino generally resemble a white Pomeranian, but can come in deep red or champagne colors.
But what the Volpino lacks in size they make up for in playfulness and agility. In fact, they’ve been known to be trained as gundogs. The breed originally was used as a guard that would bark to alert larger dogs to intruders.
Volpino is derived from the Latin word “vulpes” which means “fox.” If you at the Volpino’s face, they really do resemble foxes!
The Volpino breed nearly died out by the 1960s, but recovery efforts have saved it. It’s uncommon outside of Italy, where registrations average about 160 per year. There are only about 3,000 Volpino worldwide, according to one estimate. (Volpino are also known as the Italian Spitz, Florentine Spitz and Cane de Quirinale.)
The Volpino have been featured in a number of classical paintings. One example is St. Augustine in his Study paintedby Vittore Carpaccio in 1502, as seen in detail below:
We at Pugpalooza salute the Volpino Italiano. It’s certainly pretty enough for a picture!
Until Next Time,
Hugs and Pug Kisses
Candy
Sources and Links:
Volpino Italiano Breed Information (vetstreet.com)
Vilpino photo by Lilly Mreal name: Małgorzata Miłaszewska – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92035203
By Vittore Carpaccio – The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=148854
