The Arnolfinis love to hike

Painted in 1434 in Bruges, Belgium, "The Arnolfini Couple" is one of the most popular paintings at London's National Gallery. If you listen to the BBC, you may have heard that Dachshund Daddy recently discovered this previously unknown version of "The Arnolfini Couple", which features my great-great-...-grandfather Zibibbo next to his fur-brother Baruffo.

Baruffo was a fluffy Brussels Griffon. According to the Daily Mail, Brussels Griffons are the descendants of a long line of Flanders Terriers bred to hunt rats.

My doggy family records confirm that Dachshund Zibibbo lived with Baruffo and the Arnolfinis in Lucca, Italy in the 1420s. Later, in the 1430s, they traveled to Bruges, Belgium, where Jan Van Eyck created their iconic portrait(s).

On their way from Italy to Belgium, the Arnolfinis and their doggies came through Switzerland and took a day off to hike to the top of Monte Lema, where the following photo was taken with Dachshund Zibibbo's digital camera.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck would have posited that I owe my mouse-hunting skills to the training that Dachshund Zibibbo received from Baruffo the Brussels Griffon. Unfortunately, as my godson Bouncing Bertie would confirm, Mendel has already shown that acquired traits cannot be inherited. Too bad.

Before I fur-get... you can find the Arnolfinis, Baruffo, and Dachshund Zibibbo in Tootsie's Shoppe as part of my wotten waven "Dachshunds in Art" collection.

The Arnolfini Couple's Swiss Hike by BicontinentalTootsie

Arnolfini with Dachshund - National Gallery by BicontinentalTootsie