Jumping Napoleon Mastiff at Zambazaar

I saw that big monster jumping playfully  over the head of a man ! On a busy Zambazaar area, Triplicane, it was unusual sight, to say the least !  - when asked a nearby person whispered – it is “Napolean Mastiff” – standing on its hindlegs, it was around 6 ft or so tall !!! This dog has   heavy "flews" (hanging upper lips) and noticeable folds on the forehead and dewlap (the skin under the throat).

 

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog !  Cryin' all the time

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit

And you ain't no friend of mine

 

Well, they said you was high-classed; Well, that was just a lie

Yeah, they said you was high-classed; Well, that was just a lie

Yeah, you ain't never caught a rabbit ~ And you ain't no friend of mine 

 

The Mastiff  is a giant dog breed known for its colossal size and exceptionally gentle, "couch potato" temperament. While they were historically used as formidable war and guard dogs, modern Mastiffs are beloved family companions often described as "gentle giants" due to their patient and affectionate nature. 

Making web searches, I realized that Napoleon, the fighter was not associated with dog.  Some  dogs are historically or fictional associated with the name Napoleon, most notably a famous 19th-century circus Newfoundland named "Napoleon the Wonder Dog," and the bloodhound character in Disney's The Aristocats. While Napoleon Bonaparte himself was initially indifferent to dogs.    

You don’t have to speak a word of Italian to understand opera. With a universality that transcends spoken word, its arias plunge a listener into the depths of our most primal human emotions – love and hate, jealousy and revenge. You also don’t need to know anything about dogs to register the similarly strong emotions evoked by the sight of a Neapolitan Mastiff. From their thick, rope-like facial wrinkles to their tree-trunk-sized limbs, this is a dog of unadulterated power and primitivism. In their elastic, lumbering gait, which belongs more to a big cat than a mere canine, there is a sheer bestiality that summons archetypes older than civilization itself. 

This is no “Napoleon” – but   a Neapolitan Mastiff  - called so,  because it originated in Naples, Italy.  The name "Neapolitan" is the adjective form for the city of Naples. The breed's history is deeply rooted in this region:  - Mastino Napoletano!!     They descend from the massive Molossian war dogs used by the Roman army.  After the Roman era, these dogs were selectively bred by farmers and estate owners in southern Italy—specifically around Naples—to be formidable guardians of homes and livestock.   

A few years ago, the Government of India moved to prohibit the import, breeding, and sale of the Neapolitan Mastiff, classifying it among 23 "ferocious" and dangerous dog breeds – not sure whether such dogs are there in large nos. in India – this picture was taken on the streets in 2015. 

Moving away,  the reference of a dog in Napoleon's life comes when he married Josephine.  She had a little Pug dog named Fortune. Although Pugs have a reputation for being rather mild in their temperament, Fortune spent most of his time in Josephine's apartments and became quite possessive and hostile toward men when they were around his mistress. 

The lyrics at the start are of - "Hound Dog" is   song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Recorded originally by Big Mama Thornton in  1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one.  "Hound Dog" has been recorded more than 250 times. The best-known version is the  1956 recording by Elvis Presley, which ranked number 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, but was excluded from the revised list in 2021 in favor of Thornton's version.  Elvis  Presley's version, which sold about 10 million copies globally, was his best-selling song and "an emblem of the rock 'n' roll revolution".  "Hound Dog" has been at the center of controversies and several lawsuits, including disputes over authorship, royalties, and copyright infringement by the many answer songs.

 
Interesting !?! – fearsome to those, who do not like dogs.
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.4.2026