We Poms are small but fierce – so much so that two of us actually survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912! One of the survivors was named Lady, and she boarded a lifeboat with her human, Margaret Hayes. The other Pom (whose name is not known) belonged to the famously wealthy Rothschilds. Mrs. Elizabeth Rothschild refused to board the rescue ship Carpathia without her Pom (however she did board without her husband, Martin, who went down with the ship)!

If you’re wondering why I have such a big dog attitude in a toy dog body, it’s because we Pomeranians weren’t always small dogs. My ancestors were much bigger and were related to larger Spitz breeds such as Samoyeds, Alaskan Malamutes, and Akitas! Like those breeds, my ancestors were cold-weather sled dogs, which is why we have our thick double coat, plumed tail, and small pointy ears. My breed is named after the Pomerania region of northern Germany and Poland (near the Baltic Sea), and the first Pomeranians weighed around 30 pounds! My larger ancestors became popular throughout Europe as early as the 16th century, especially in Italy where we were used as watchdogs to guard our humans’ possessions. We were even loyal companion dogs to world-famous musicians and artists, including Michelangelo and Mozart. Pomeranians popularity blew up in England in the 18th century when Queen Charlotte brought two Poms home from Germany in 1767. But Poms as we are today (as the smallest of the Spitz-t