Top dogs: 10 literary canines

From Lord Byron and his much-loved Newfoundland to the Hardys and their attention-seeking terrier, Mikita Brottman on her favourite bookish hounds

• Mikita Brottman - The Guardian, Saturday 13 September 2014

Thomas Hardy and his wife with their dog Wessex in 1914. Photograph: EO Hopp/Corbis

1. Boatswain In November 1808, Lord Byron's brave and courageous Newfoundland dog Boatswain died after contracting rabies. Byron, unafraid of being bitten and becoming infected, wiped away Boatswain's slaver with his own hands, nursing the dog until the disease took its toll. On his companion's death, the grieving Byron composed the lines "Epitaph to a Dog", to be carved on Boatswain's tomb at Newstead Abbey, the poet's estate: "Near this spot / are deposited the Remains of one / who possessed Beauty without Vanity, / Strength without Insolence, /Courage without Ferocity, / and all the Virtues of Man without his Vices."

2. Quinine In 1892, Anton Chekhov was given two dachshund puppies by his publisher, Nicolas Leykin. Chekhov named the male dog Bromine (Greek for "strong-smelling"), and the tan one Quinine (a drug used as a painkiller). It was Quinine – the lazy, idle, and potbellied female – who became the author's favourite. According to his sister Masha, "every evening Quinine would come up to Anton, put her front paws on his knees and look into his eyes devotedly".
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