Pompey was the dog of William The Silent, the Prince of Orange. According to legend, during a campaign against the Spanish by William's dog, Pompey, thwarted an assassination attempt. One night at Hermigny, France, while the prince slept, assassins crept toward his tent. Pompey heard them and began barking and scratching to warn his master, finally jumping on his master's face to alert him to the impending danger.
On the monument of William the Silent, at the Church of St. Ursula, in Delft, Pompey is carved lying at his master's feet.
Disputed breed
There have been differing views on the breed of the dog in this legend. Some refer to the dog as a relative of the pug, yet others believe Pompey was a Kooikerhondje. The dog carved in the monument at Delft does not have a flat face and was in 1873 referred to as a "spaniel" by a U.S. court.
Hendrick de Keyser's terracotta model for the mortuary statue of William I, Prince of Orange with Pompey is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.