Goblindoodles, Count Dachula, and Frankenspaniel! The Surprising Canine History of Halloween 👻

Halloween has snuck up on us this year which feels both weird - it’s a big, regular, technicolor holiday - and totally on brand - sneaking up on people is kind of a pro Halloween move, I mean what could be creepier? But somehow or another, we feel like we got here slowly and then all of a sudden, and honestly, we’re not (barking) mad about it. 

Here’s the thing: some holidays are as much about the build up as they are about the day itself. Who would enjoy Christmas as much without the month-long pregaming? Who would be as thankful for Thanksgiving without the anticipation of a turkey-fest? To a certain extent this is true of halloween; if you live in a neighborhood inclined to decorating the run up can be spectacular. Likewise, if you live in Salem or Sleepy Hollow, you are more or less in a permanent Halloween prep posture and more power to you. 

For the rest of us, Halloween is a burst of energy that punches through the coziness of hot apple cider and the gentle stroll to turkey day, and then flames out as spectacularly as it flames in, all shrieks and scares and look-at-me. In short, Halloween has peerless main character energy which provides us with a peerless segue to the aspect of Halloween with which this column is concerned: character. Halloween is the day when, should we choose, we get to be someone - or something - besides ourselves! So this month, let’s meet three of our favorite historical canine characters who happen to be bang on brand for this most splendidly spooky of days… whoooo knows, perhaps you’ll encounter one on Halloween!

Goblindoodles

Goldendoodles are one of the most popular breeds in America thanks to their sweet nature, affable personalities, and floofy coats, but it turns out that they were not always quite so agreeable or indeed floofy. TELL US MORE! Well, it seems that the first cross breeding with a poodle was not with a golden retriever but with the now obsolete goblin retriever, a breed of working dogs whose job was to help farmers and gamekeepers during goblin hunting season. The season ran from Halloween to the first full moon in January, known as Wolf Moon, and unchecked, the wily goblins wreaked havoc with crops, game birds such as pheasant and of course turkeys whose preservation was critical for a bountiful thanksgiving; enter the goblin retriever! In keeping with their firm but fair characters, these dogs caused the goblins no harm but shooed them away with great efficacy. Fast forward to the early part of the 20th century and the work of the goblin retriever was winding down, so the farmers and GRs got together with the poodles - don’t ask us why, but have you ever tried to ignore a poodle? - and decided it was time for a remix. Fast forward to whelping, and surprise!, in place of the expected Retroodle was delivered a goblindoodle. Less rigorous than a retriever and less precise than a poodle, this hy-breed was an instant hit with a new generation of young people, who came to be known as “teenagers”, whose desire for rebellion and unstructured time was perfectly matched by the GDs’ sense of mischief and fun. Over time, this mischievousness became standardized as and as the 20th century drew to a close, the poodles and the retrievers met once again to brainstorm the Next Big Thing, and in 1989, the first golden doodle was born. Floof of concept at last and America has never looked back!

Count Dachula

Regulars know that as part of our deep affection for all dogs, we have a deep affection for dachshunds, and so imagine our surprise when we learned that way back in the olden days, there was an aristocratic doxie named Count Dachula who slept not in a cozy bed but in a vault in a creepy castle. Modern dachshunds SHUDDER at the thought! That said, some of Dachula’s other preferences are less surprising… he was said to have a voracious appetite, a tendency to sleep for most of the day, and a habit of responding vigorously & vehemently to anyone who dared walk past the castle. Count Dachula’s spokesdog strenuously denied reports of disappearing postmen as well as the absence of reports of disappearing reporters. Who can say, but also, er, let’s not ask or even reflect (or not reflect) anymore on this, eh, because word on the street is Count Dachula may not be as much of a “was” as an “is” and who wants to argue with a senior dachshund, let alone one who lives in a creepy castle, okay, byeeeee. 😳

Frankenspaniel

Many of us know the story of Frankenstein, the scientist who created a monster. The novel by Mary Shelley takes the form of a series of fictional letters between a sea Captain Robert Walton, and his sister, Margaret Walton Saville? As well as being a mariner, Walton is a (hitherto unsuccessful) writer who decides to explore the North Pole in order to add scientist to his resume. Okay! Early in the voyage, the ship is trapped by ice in the Arctic Ocean but just as the crew gets that not quite sinking feeling, they see a dog sled driven by a gigantic figure. Lo and behold, the ice splits apart, freeing the ship, but that’s not all! What many of us do not know is that there are two versions of this tale. In early editions, the story continues thus: the crew rescues a more-or-less frozen dog, Victor Frankenspaniel, from a drifting iceberg. It turns out Frankenspaniel had long been in pursuit of the gigantic man who was driving the aforementioned sled and the novel unfolds accordingly. The last thing we want to do is spoil the story, but most contemporary editions have cast Frankenspaniel as Frankenstein, thus erasing dogs from the tale more or less entirely. We’ll leave it to you to imagine which we prefer, but suffice to say: dogs make everything better 🫶🐾

We suspect that these three are just the tip of the iceberg for halloweenies, but the witching happy hour is approaching and it’s time for a treat. Happy Halloween, pack, we love you-ooooooooooooooo! 🎃 👻🐾