Character
Throughout the series, Snowy is Tintin's sidekick and companion on journeys. Along with Tintin he is the only character to appear in all of the albums. In Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, where he is introduced, Snowy acts as the source of humor. Throughout the first eight stories Snowy is the series' co-star; he is able to understand human language and is portrayed with speech bubbles. His comments provide comedy or urge his master to use caution or fear. In the early albums he takes an interest in mechanics, geography, and in Tintin in the Congo makes biblical references. He also takes on a more traditional role of a dog and is able to sniff, track, chase, and bite.
The character of Snowy evolved through the course of the Tintin series. In early works he exchanges dialog with other characters, including animals, and provides a running commentary on the situation. But then his character became affected by the introduction of Captain Haddock in The Crab with the Golden Claws. Before Haddock's appearance, Snowy was the source of dry and cynical side-commentary, which balanced out Tintin's constantly positive, optimistic perspective. When Haddock entered the series, the Captain took over the role of the cynic, and Snowy gradually shifted into a more light-hearted role, having dialog only with Tintin.
Snowy is portrayed as brave and often takes up a fight with much larger creatures when Tintin is threatened. He repeatedly is able to free Tintin from captivity and save him from dangerous situations, and will sometimes identify a villain before Tintin. His only fear is arachnophobia. Snowy always wishes to stay at his master's side. In a scene in The Shooting Star where Tintin temporarily abandoned him, Snowy is inconsolable.
Snowy has a love of whiskey and is displayed as drunk several times, an attribute which was first displayed in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. His appetite for food is the basis for several short, comical sequences. The dog's biggest lust is for bones. This repeatedly becomes the center of moral dilemmas as Snowy has to make decisions between carrying out important tasks, such as carrying an SOS message, and picking up a bone. Snowy takes on a rowdy behavior chasing the Siamese cat at Marlinspike Hall until the two become friends at the end of The Calculus Affair. Snowy often adds to the story in notable ways. For instance, Snowy is the only character in Flight 714 to escape mass hypnosis and to know of their abduction and rescue.
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—John Berger (b. 1926)
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—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)