Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Snowy is a white Wire Fox Terrier who is a companion to Tintin, the series’ protagonist. Snowy debuted on 10 January 1929 in the first installment of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, which was serialised in Le Petit Vingtième until May 1930.
Hergé never had a dog in his family until his last years; however, in 1929 he was a regular at a café where the proprietor had a terrier. This dog was a major source of inspiration for Snowy.
Snowy’s original French name Milou—an abbreviation of Marie-Louise—is borrowed from the nickname of Hergé’s first girlfriend, Marie-Louise Van Cutsem. Marie-Louise’s father disapproved of Hergé’s low social standing, and the young couple’s relationship consequently deteriorated. Nevertheless, Hergé remained fond of Marie-Louise, and made her the namesake of Tintin’s most trusted friend. The name Snowy was chosen for English-language translations not only because of the dog’s colour, but also because it is a five-letter word that fits in the speech balloons.
Picture Credit : Google
