For close to a century comic hero Tintin has gone everywhere with his little four-legged pal Snowy by his side. Now, in the real world, wire fox terriers are in serious decline with puppy registrations collapsing and the once much-loved breed at risk of being wiped out.
The UK Kennel Club shared latest figures with MailOnline showing the breed has declined in popularity by some 94 percent since 1947 and the halcyon days of The Adventures of Tintin.
Bill Lambert, a spokesperson for club, told the outlet a host of factors can contribute to a breed’s decline, with “popular culture, celebrities and the influence of social media” driving dog ownership trends and breed popularity.
Sadly the wire fox terrier is enjoying few if any of those benefits with less than 300 puppies registered in 2023 even as it proves a perennial favorite with judges at dog shows around the world.
The wire fox terrier rose to fame back in the 1920s as Snowy, the canine sidekick in The Adventures of Tintin. (Wojtek BUSS /Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
“While the Wire Fox Terrier was once favoured by royalty, and Snowy was a recognisable character in comics and on television, the public may be less familiar with them now they are no longer regularly seen in the media,” Lambert told the outlet.
“Equally, changing lifestyles can also be a factor and while they’re a smaller breed, they can require a lot of grooming to maintain their distinctive coat, which may not suit all owners.”
The wire fox terrier was once a mainstay of traditional British foxhunts and just as frequently seen on Hollywood sets.
A wire fox terrier waiting for his call in Hollywood circa 1930 (H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images)
File/Sydney’s Garden Island Naval base played host to 2000 of Australia finest dogs in their annual dog show. Melisa Gorman (6) of Chifley makes friends with ex Australian Champion wire haired fox terrier at the show. February 17, 1980. (Julian Kevin Zakaras/Fairfax Media via Getty)
Skippy (also known as “Asta”, 1931–1951) was an example of the breed who appeared in dozens of Hollywood movies during the 1930s.
Skippy is best known for the role of the pet dog “Asta” in the 1934 detective comedy The Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, and for his role in the 1938 comedy Bringing Up Baby, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
Due to the popularity of The Thin Man role, Skippy was sometimes credited as “Asta” in public and in other films.
File/Irene Dunne and Cary Grant in a publicity portrait for the 1937 Columbia Pictures release “The Awful Truth.” Their famous pooch “Mr. Smith” is Asta, the movie wire fox terrier. (Getty)
The small wiry-coated breed was also historically a Royal Family favourite with both King Edward VII and Queen Victoria reported to have owned one.
“The Wire is thought to have come about from crosses of the Old English Terrier, smooth coated Black and Tan terriers of England, Bull Terriers, Greyhounds and Beagles,” The Fox Terrier Club explains on its website.
“They were used by hunters with the foxhounds to locate foxes when they went to ground by barking and so pinpointing the position of the fox for the huntsman.”
The breed gained widespread recognition after being featured as Snowy in the Tintin comics and novels, which were first released in 1929.
Wire fox terrier ‘King’ and handler celebrate after winning the Terrier Group judging at the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden on February 12, 2019 in New York City. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Belgian writer Hergé developed a character named Tintin as a boy reporter who could travel the world with his fox terrier, Snowy — “Milou” in the original French – and it was an immediate success.
As recently as 2019 a wire fox terrier triumphed and was chosen best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, beating out a crowd-pleasing longhaired dachshund and popular Sussex spaniel, as Breitbart News reported.
Wire fox terriers have won 15 times at the most prestigious dog show in the U.S., far more than any other breed (Scottish terriers, with eight).