Although extremely stunning and glamorous, the Borzoi never really became a well-known dog breed in the film industry. The breed can be seen in several films and novels but only in a brief manner. Borzois are usually only utilized as supporting and extra characters that appear for a few seconds. In the animated film “The Lady and the Tramp,” the breed made an appearance that can be considered quite significant.

In the 1955 film, main characters Lady and Tramp were spending the day together when Lady got wrongfully captured by one of the city’s roaming dog catchers and was later brought to the local pound. In the dog pound she met a group of dogs who even, at first, laughed at the irony of such a rich and privileged dog like Lady getting caught and placed in a pound. The silliness stopped when Peg, one of the dogs in the pound who’s a motherly figure, assured Lady that she would eventually be released once one of the catchers notice her collar.  One of Peg’s good friends inside the pound is a male Borzoi named Boris. Boris is characterized by a slender and tall Borzoi who has a grey coat and talks with a Russian accent. The character of Boris is voiced by American actor and voice artist Alan Reed. Like real Borzois, Boris’ character is gentle, quiet, and peaceful. In the film, he is quite friendly and is very understanding. Peg even refers to Boris as a philosopher and describes him as someone who has a lot of words to say, mostly sentimental, about love. Boris, together with the other impounded dogs, kept Lady in good company and encouraged her that she would be released to her original owners in no time. They continued to comfort Lady even though the impounded dogs themselves were also in a bad situation and in danger of being put to sleep. Not long after, one of the dog catchers caught a glimpse of Lady’s collar and and released her to her rightful owners. What became of the impounded dogs wasn’t disclosed in the movie.

In the earlier versions of the film, Boris was originally assigned to have different characteristics. Unlike the calm, peaceful, and friendly Boris in the 1955 version, he was boastful and in love with Lady. Eventually, the filmmakers realized that the Russian breed does not fit such characteristics and changed the character of the Boris into one of the dogs in the pound.

The appearance of Boris the Borzoi in The Lady in the Tramp is definitely one of the breed’s most memorable appearances in film history. Borzois can also be spotted in other films, including Daniel and the Superdogs, Chaplin, 102 Dalmatians, Anna Karenina and Dumb and Dumber, albeit in minor roles.