The Velodog Revolver,A creation of the French pistol maker Charles Francois Galland in the late 19th

The Velodog Revolver,A creation of the French pistol maker Charles Francois Galland in the late 19th century, the Velodog was a small pocket revolver popular in France and Belgium in the late 19th and early 20th century.  While there were many makers of Velodog revolvers in Europe at the time, most share common characteristics.  First, they were small five or six shot double action revolvers, often hammerless and lacking a trigger guard.  Instead of a trigger guard, for the safety most Velodogs had a folding trigger, which also made the pistol more compact for carrying.  Secondly, most Velodogs were of small caliber.  At first they were produced in a caliber called 5.75 Velodog, a 5.5mm (.22 caliber) jacket cartridge similar to the .22 magnum today.  Later Velodogs were produced in other small calibers such a .22 long rifle and .25 ACP.The purpose of the velodog was very specific, for bicyclers to defend themselves against dog attacks. The name “velodog” is a portmanteau of the words “velocipede”, an early type of bicycle (pictured above), and “dog”.  While this may seem laughable today, remember that at the time, bicycles were crude, slow vehicles and that 19th century Paris was infested with thousands of dangerous, rabid dogs.  For those seeking a more humane solution, 5.75 Velodog cartridges were produced loaded with cayenne pepper. -- source link

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