At Bunkamura the Museum in Shibuya, Tokyo, where the exhibition "Rubens: The Glorious Antwerp Workshop and the Italian Origins" (organized by The Mainichi Newspapers and others, through the 21st) is on view, a donation box for the "Patrasche Fund" to promote guide dogs has been set up＝photo upper. Patrasche is the beloved dog of Nero, the boy hero of the anime "A Dog of Flanders." The fund was established in 2010 by Nippon Animation Co., Ltd., which produced the anime, to support guide-dog promotion; donations are reportedly used for breeding and training guide dogs through the NPO Japan Guide Dog Association.
Some say the name Patrasche was borrowed from Rubens's own dog, but what breed? In the anime he looks somewhat like a Saint Bernard, but the upright ears are decisively different.
The British author's original includes illustrations like those below＝photos lower left and describes "skin yellow, head and limbs large, ears straight like a wolf's," "four sturdy yellow-brown legs," and so on — the accepted view is that the model is the shaggy Bouvier des Flandres native to Flanders (bouvier is French for cattle dog; it is also called Bouvier des Flandres, though combining French bouvier with English Flanders is rather odd). The 1998 American film "A Dog of Flanders" also uses this breed＝photo lower right. President Reagan's dog was of this kind; most have dark coats, but some are light brown or whitish.
Patrasche in the 1959 American film looks like a Labrador retriever＝photo lower left. It is hard to believe this breed existed in Belgium in the mid- to late 19th century when the story is set. The 1935 American film is plainly a shepherd＝photo lower right. Some say Patrasche is the Belgian native "Belgian Shepherd Dog."
Still unclear, so we asked Nippon Animation — and received this reply:
"In producing the work, our staff at the time created the image originally. Patrasche is not an official breed."
Well — cute is enough, right?
This ties in with the story's low local reputation I mentioned the other day, but perhaps it is better not to understand human–dog relations with today's sensibilities alone. The Bouvier des Flandres was "used as a herding dog, draft dog, and to turn butter churns" (Japan Kennel Club site). In the story, Patrasche is overworked by a greedy ironmonger, whipped, and when he can no longer work, abandoned near death and saved by Nero; once recovered, he repays the kindness by pulling a cart loaded with milk cans. "Steadfast devotion" fits modern feeling, but in the story's era, dogs pulling carts was ordinary — worth keeping in mind. Abuse is out of the question, but the changing times give much to think about.