Tintin Forums

Hi
This question, "Does Haddock like Snowy?", may seem like a stupid one, but I have my doubts as to whether he really does?
Re-reading Prisoners of the Sun, I saw Haddock say to Snowy, "Shut up, you sea-lion, you!".
This isn't the only case of Haddock saying something like that.
It could just be that because Archibald is hot tempered, he simply loses his head?
Or, is it possible he actively dislikes Snowy?

If anything, Snowy hates Haddock, because we hear a lot less from him after Haddock appears in the Tintin books! :-)

Doesn't Haddock console Snowy in one of the books when they think they've lost Tintin? This would seem silly if Haddock hated the dog. The argument above could be used for Tintin too, he yelled at Snowy alot, especially when he got drunk or chased cats!

We all yell at our dogs if they do something naughty. And Snowy being noisy could have got them into trouble..

In Tintin in Tibet, Haddock says 'Poor Snowy' and acts really concerned when they find him in the snow, when Tintin has fallen down the chasm

He does indeed. My take is that Haddock tolerates Snowy, like he does a lot of other things.
When Haddock loses it, it doesn't matter what pushed him over the edge!

When does Haddock console Snowy? I'm searching my memory, but nothing comes to mind.

In The Secret of 'The Unicorn', Haddock seems genuinely concerned for Snowy's safety when he's standing up on the window sill, barking at the truck which contains a chloroformed Tintin.
If the Captain honestly did not like Snowy, then I don't think he'd have bothered to catch Snowy.

Also, in Explorers on the Moon, the Captain tends to Snowy's injury, and claims he has a way with animals. I doubt he'd admit something like that if he didn't like Snowy.

And in the cartoon series, for Explorers on the Moon, I can remember the Captain climbing down the ladder into the living quarters, after shouting at the Thom(p)sons for gulping down his oxygen.
When he saw Snowy, he said, "Ah Snowy, I don't mind sharing my oxygene with you" (although that wasn't in the book...).

You'll note that usually whenever the Captain starts yelling in a fit of anger, Snowy resorts to hiding, though I know from experience that when your dog knows you're angry, he'll take off and hide, usually for the fear of you being angry at him.

And while we're about this, in Tintin in the Picaros, page 21, frame 11 (if I'm correct) Snowy is so excited to see the Captain, that he's jumping up, licking at his hand.

In conclusion, I think they both like each other.
Of course, there are times like in Prisoners of the Sun, where the Captain lets loose at Snowy, because that's just the Captain's way...

In Frederic Tuten's novel Tintin in the New World, Haddock is very fond of Snowy, and spends much of his time mourning by his grave!