Until recently I was guilelessly unaware that a common Russian seamen saying goes like ‘A true sailor won’t harm a “dogface” (a slang for a ’novice’)’ instead of ‘A true sailor won’t harm a dog’. The breed is a fruit of my musing, for dogs were less common aboard a ship than cats. A cairn terrier is a rat catcher, which does not make its presence historically accurate, but at least reasonable. ‘How long should the sleeves’ be is another tricky point. As a reference a soviet-era poster was used, which featured the exact length. In conclusion no dog or sailor have been harmed during creation of this piece; be kind to any historical inaccuracies, for the art itself was born out of the inaccuracy.