Vienna Dog Names

It was at a state dinner in Vienna that First Lady Jackie Kennedy first felt drawn to strike up a conversation with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev about the famous Soviet space dog Strelka. Years later, Jackie's daughter Caroline Kennedy had said that her mother told her that she merely lacked anything to say to the Soviet leader. To start a conversation, instead of sitting there in awkward silence, she had felt the need to ask him about the famous Russian space pooch "Strelka." She then went on to inquire about the puppies that Strelka was rumored to have given birth too. 

It was the First Lady's interest in Strelka and her puppies that somehow forged an unlikely bond between the Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev and President John F. Kennedy. It is interesting to note that it was the love of canines that helped establish the two world leaders unique friendship. 

A few months after the elegant state dinner in Vienna a puppy arrived at the Whitehouse. President Kennedy was shocked that his wife's conversation with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had had such an impact on the hardcore leader that he would feel the urge to send the First Lady one of the space dog Strelka's puppies. 

The puppy's paperwork listed her as Strelka's daughter. The pup was named Pushinka. Although not a dog of Vienna, her journey to the White House began there, as a result of the famous conversation between the Soviet leader and the First Lady of the United States. Her papers stated she was a 'non-breed' which meant that she was a pure mutt. The name, "Pushinka" is Russian for "Fluffy" and the small puppy's fur was incredibly fluffy. 

President Kennedy promptly sent the Soviet Leader a letter thanking him, and the initial note opened the door to even more communications and messages. Undoubtedly, it was a thorn in the President's side that the Russians had been able to successfully launch two dogs into orbit and return them alive to Earth. The President vowed to put a man on the moon as a direct rebuttal to Russia's space success. 

Though not a dog from Vienna, Pushinka came to the White House as a result of a conversation at an elegant Viennese dinner. Dogs in Vienna are indeed known to be elegant too, well trained and refined. They are described as "the most elegant dogs in the world." Max, the Chihuahua is one such elegant dog, he sports the finest in-style clothing and in fact, is in residence at Katz and Hund, a well known shop that sells clothing and accessories for pups. Featuring local designers and outfitting many of the elegant dogs of Vienna, it is no wonder they are the best dressed on the planet!