Origins
It used to be thought that the dog originated somewhere in the
fertile crescent, but Finnish genetic researcher Savolainen, in his analysis of
the mtDNA of a great variety of dogs from around the globe, demonstrates
that their domestication must have taken place in East Asia. This transformation
from wolf to dog is thought to have occurred nearly 15,000 years ago.
Without dogs, it seems unlikely humans would have been able to spread throughout
the world; nor would we have developed civilization. (Dogs That Changed the
World, Nature, PBS, 2008.)
Clean and Unclean
In Persia
In ancient
Persia, dogs were one of the preferred means of disposing of
corpses. This is the likely reason why they were, and still are in some
places, considered to be especially unclean. It is not solely
because they may have eaten carrion that they are avoided, but also because it
is often thought that evil spirits readily associate with dead bodies.
Therefore, in the Zoroastrian rituals of old,
the dead body is placed on a stone slab out in the open. Then a dog is
brought near in order to inspect the face of the dead person, for it was
believed that it had an ability to see and chase away any evil spirits that may
have associated themselves to the corpse.
In Arabia
There is an anecdote told of Mohammed, the
prophet of Islam: One day, a panting dog feebly approached one of his
followers, who took notice of the poor animal. Seeing a puddle of
muddy water, he tore a scrap off the hem of his shirt, soaked it in the water
and taking the dog in his lap, he moistened its mouth.
Another person, witnessing this, went and told
the Prophet that a member of the group had handled a filthy animal, "and
therefore he should not be allowed back here again."
Mohammed asked, "What was he doing to the dog ?"
"I don't know, but I saw him moistening its mouth with a torn piece of
cloth dipped in muddy water."
"Then," replied the Prophet, "He is a better Muslim than you,
because he is kind to animals."
However, in most of the countries which have been influenced by
Arab culture, dogs are held to be unclean and are rarely permitted in the
home. An exception, according to Roger A. Carras, late president of the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are the coursers and gaze
or, sight, hounds, most notably the Saluki, which is used for hunting.
In India
The purest native form of Indian dog is an elegant animal called the Santal Hound.
However the ordinary street dog is known as a pye dog, or pariah -- an
animal outcaste.
Outside the emergent Indian middle class, where dogs are kept as
pets or as status symbols, the dog is generally considered unclean and a
pest. But there is also an ancient tradition of respect for
canines. For example,
"Since 1927 a dog [had been] following the retinue of
the Matha.* It was a strange dog -- an intelligent animal without the least
trace of unclean lines. It would eat only the food given to it from the
Matha. The Acharya would therefore enquire every evening if the dog had been
fed. When the camp moved from one place to another, the dog would follow,
walking underneath the palanquin, and when the entourage stopped so that the
devotees of the way side villages could pay their homage, it would run to a
distance and watch devoutly from there, only to rejoin the retinue when it
was on the move again. One day, a small boy hit the dog; and the dog was
about to retaliate, when the officials of the Matha, in fear, caused the dog
to be taken to a distance of twenty-five miles, blindfolded and left there
in a village. But strange as it may seem, the dog returned to where the
Acharya was, even before the person who had taken it away could
return. From that day onwards the dog would not eat without the
Acharya's darshana** and stayed till the end of its life with the
Matha." [This happened near Nagari.]
~ Kamakothi.org (*math
is a Hindu saint, in this case the 68th Shankara-acharya, Chandrasekharendra
Sarasvati of Kanchi. **being in sight of his presence.)
The ending of the
Mahabharata centers on a
dog. When the Pandava brothers hear of the destruction of their cousins
and of Krishna, having experienced the cruel devastation of the war they retire to
the Himalayas to be
contemplatives. They throw their weapons into the
river, and go along with their wife Draupadi to begin the ascent to Swarga,
Indra's heaven on Mount Meru, but a dog begins to tag along.
As they near the summit, first the woman is left behind because of her
attachment to Arjuna, and then one after another (because of each person's
pride, hunger, love or other kind of attachment) four of her husbands fall
dead. The only survivors now are Yudhishthira and the dog.
Now Shakra [Indra's private name] appeared in his gleaming chariot. "Embark
in my chariot and come with me to Swarga." But when Yudhishtira went to take his seat in the vehicle, the
dog hopped in.
When they reach the heavenly gates of Swarga, Shakra invites the pious, truthful Yudhishtira in, but the man says he does not want to
be there alone. Shakra assures him that he will see his brothers and
Draupadi, already there.
Yudhishtira then says, "Lord of Past and Present, this dog
who is so devoted to me should also enter."
Indra replies, "You have acquired immortality and all the
joys of heaven today; leave the dog behind."
The man says, "Lord of a Thousand Eyes, what is the use of
bliss if to attain it I have to reject one who is so devoted to me?"
"There is no place for people with dogs in heaven.
The apsaras will deprive you of their blessings; think of that. Now will
you give up the dog?"
"Even for such bliss, I could never leave one who is
terrified, devoted to me, needs my help, is weak or begs for his life. I
could never abandon such a one."
Shakra informed him, "Whatever blessings or benefits a dog
can observe, the heavenly daughters will take way. So renounce the dog,
and attain the joys of heaven. You went on without your own brothers, why
won't you give up the dog?"
But Yudhishtira said, "As long as they were still alive, I
did not renounce them. To abandon the dog would be like injuring
a friend, or like frightening someone under my protection."
Then Indra relented, and praised the man for the mercy he
demonstrated towards the animal. He admitted them together to Swarga as an
example to others.
Just then, Dharma "with his golden hair" emerged from the
dog's form and blessed the man.
Some say that this Dharma is the one who is the man's
father, and that he had come to test Yudishtira's loyalty and was pleased with
his son's conduct. Others say that it is the Dharma-rajah who is Yama, Lord of
Death but still others, that Dharma stands for the dharma that is the
law of the universe itself.
Shiva's Dogs
 The
dog is as much considered the vahana or animal vehicle of the Indian god
Shiva as is the bull, Nandi. In fact, when Shiva is depicted with four
dogs, they are said to represent the 4 Vedas -- the most ancient of scriptures. Shiva
in his wrathful form as Bhairava is especially portrayed with dogs. Here the
association is with Lord Shiva as yogi who meditates at battlegrounds and
cemeteries, and so is connected with canines as scavengers.
An Indian deity called Dattatreya combines the three male
gods Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, and at his feet are the four dogs that are the Vedas.
They accompany him as the hounds of heaven that track pure souls, and as the
watchdogs of Dharma in the sense of ultimate harmony and truth.
Loyal Companion
The dog has long been a symbol of loyalty. The Abhinaka Jataka, one of the tales about Buddha's
previous lives, recounts how even to an elephant, the
dog is precious. When an elephant misses his dog playmate, he refuses to
eat until the dog is restored to him.
Homer [Greek
epic poet] wrote that when wily Odysseos returned home from Troy after years
on the road, at first he was recognized
only by his old dog, Argos.
Dogs as symbolic of sincerity and trustworthiness were also held sacred to the Roman
god, Mithras,
The name of the Irish hero, Cuchulainn [pron. ku-kuh-lin]
refers to his devotion to his country. (Cu means dog. ) He was a mighty person even at age
seven when he killed the watchdog of Chulainn the Smith and in return, undertook
to take its place as protector of the kingdom of Ulster.
The loyalty of dogs is often thought to work both ways:
A farmer intended to shoot a faithful dog, now too old to be
of use. But the dog's friend the wolf had a plan. Accordingly, he seized
the master's child; the dog pursued and with a pretended struggle rescued the
child. The grateful farmer now promised to keep the old dog as long as he
lived.
~ Old Sultan retold by D.L.
Ashliman (Grimm's # 48).
Miserable Dog
Sometimes we forget that until a hundred or so years ago, dogs
were not normally kept in the home. At least since the 1500s people have
been saying, It's a dog’s life when they mean that life is full of
suffering.
Also, dogs left to breed unchecked in cities rapidly become pests, a
source of vermin and disease. They are associated with conflict, noise, dirt
and misery. When Turkey moved to modernize, the
thousands of dogs of Constantinople were rounded up, deposited on an island in
the Sea of Marmora and left to die in a piteous and prolonged fashion.
Similarly, in Nepal, the dogs of Kathmandu have been
regularly rounded up and destroyed when they were thought to pose a threat
either to health or to tourism.
As former host Bob Barker of The Price is Right TV game show
used to say, "Have your pet spayed or
neutered." Drew Carey now adds, "It's very important."
Reborn as a Dog
To live as a dog is considered a terrible fate.
In the Shantiparva of The Mahabharata (Book 3:28) that one who
embraces another's wife, "becomes a dog for 100 lives and then a serpent. . . . . One who enjoys with a friend's wife or maternal aunt, becomes a
dog." The same fate will befall a person who waters milk, and so on.
Dogs and Death
 In
many mythologies, dogs or dog-like beings guard the underworld from unwelcome
guests such as the still-living, and they also keep the dead where they
belong. Examples are Cerberus, multi-headed guardian of the
Greeks, his two-headed brother, Orthrus, and the Norse dog Garm, at Hel's
door. There are many others.
Interestingly, in the 2007 Halloween special of the television
show, Phenomenon, Israeli mentalist Guy Bavli, who has the ability of
stopping his heart, took more than 10 seconds to restart it. When he
finally did, by what seemed like a kind of self-generated electric shock, he
remarked, "I could hear dogs -- lots of dogs."
In Welsh mythology, white hounds with red ears are denizens of
Annwn, the Otherworld that is ruled by Arawn, lord of death. In the tale
of the hostel of Da Derga, there are nine hounds, and also many dog skeletons
have been found buried in Celtic graves either having been sacrificed to
accompany their masters or as offerings.
In Tibetan Buddhism, one of the darker dakinis has a dog for her vehicle.
And in the
mandala of Vajravarahi, in the west, the direction of the Dead -- the place
where the sun sets -- there is the red dog-headed dakini who is called Svanasya.
Jackal-headed messengers or deities like Anubis of the
ancient Egyptians represent the canine as a scavenger of corpses but also as an agent of
transformation. Although the jackal and the coyote or fox
are tricksters,
and the elusive yet social wolf functions as a representative of
nature, only
the dog fulfills the role of "Man's Best Friend."
A Shoshone myth which explains how death came into the world
illuminates the difference between wise Wolf and wily Coyote [called Ma'i
by Navajo/southern Dene]. They are sometimes referred to as older
and younger brother, respectively.
In the first days, when animals were not as they are today,
Wolf was the Creator of order in this world, while Coyote always tried
to oppose him. Knowing that, Wolf said to his brother, "When a
person dies, he will be able to be revived if someone can shoot an arrow under
him."
Coyote disagreed, of course, saying that it would be a very
bad idea to bring people back to life, since then there would be too many
people and not enough room for them all.
Wolf agreed, secretly deciding that Coyote's child ought to be the first to
die. As soon as he had that thought, the boy did indeed die.
When Coyote discovered that his child was dead, he went to
Wolf to remind him about people getting a new life if an arrow were shot under
them. But Wolf in turn reminded Coyote that he was the one who had
opposed that plan, and so it was he himself who had determined that death
should be a final thing.
The Dog in Buddhism
The following tale is one of the Jatakas, stories of the
Buddha's former lives.
The Guilty Dogs
One evening, after the king had spent the day traveling in his
magnificent carriage, the three pairs of horses were led back to the stables to
be fed and watered, but through some oversight the vehicle was left untended in
the courtyard.
During the night it rained, and the fine leather harnesses were
softened and began to exude a spicy, powdery odour that proved irresistible to
the palace dogs. They tugged and gnawed, and scrabbled and chewed,
and when just a faint glow appeared on the eastern horizon, they tip-toed away
to curl up in their usual places.
In the morning, the syces and stablemen could not believe their
eyes. With cold feet and trembling hands, they went to tell the king.
The king was furious.
We do not know how the people responsible were punished, but we
do know that he called for the death of every single dog in the vicinity.
All the dogs in the city, pets and pye dogs alike, knew what
would be the consequence of the actions of the royal hounds (all but the very
youngest ones) and so they fled to the outskirts to join the packs that lurked
in the woods. At any moment, they expected the king's enforcers to come
and exterminate every one of them for something they had had no paw in.
The lead dog who, it is believed, was the Buddha in a previous
lifetime, put his own fear aside, and calmly and with great dignity, went to
talk to the king. He was so imposing that the guards made no move against him.
As he approached, the king asked, "How is it that you are still
alive?
The great dog prostrated his head on the carpet between his
paws, rose again and replied, " I have come on a mission of mercy, your
Highness. "Why are you determined to put to death every dog in the kingdom?
It is not possible that they all had a bite of the royal livery. There is
certainly not enough leather on six bridles and harnesses for every single dog
here."
The king replied, "Dogs chew royal property; dogs die."
"Highness, you have always been a most just ruler. The
guilty ones deserve a punishment, that is true. Which dogs did the
chewing?"
The noble hound continued, "Maharaj, is it right for all to
suffer for the wrongs of only a few? Your response to this question will surely cause deep
reflection by those in your own household, not to mention your ministers and
even your many loyal subjects of high and low degree."
After a brief hesitation, the king said, "If you can show me
the guilty parties, I will spare the other animals."
The skillful dog responded, "It is known that dogs will eat
grass to scour their stomachs, therefore, let all the dogs eat kula grass.
This will make them cough up what is in their bodies, and then we will find the
guilty parties."
"It seems that most of the dogs have fled," said the king. "Only the
royal hounds remain. How can royal dogs be compared to common curs? But
let us see if the kula grass is effective. We will try it on them
first, then."
The royal dogs were fed kula grass and lo, and behold, they
coughed it up along with little bits of gilded leather.
The king was amazed, and he reflected on his spontaneous angry
response. He put an immediate stop to the dog hunt. He even halted the
destruction of wild dogs (except those known to kill cattle.)
As their penance, every year the royal dogs had to serve all the
others -- pets, pye dogs and even those that lived in the forest -- at a
great feast in the city centre.
So it happened that a great king learned the virtue of
restraint, justice, courage and compassion from the Tathagata, who in that
lifetime was living in the Animal Realm as a
lead dog.
Asanga yearned to have direct experience of the future Buddha,
Maitreya. He slowly learned patience through guidance, practice and
extraordinary experience. Once, after he had been meditating for 12 years,
he left the cave and encountered a poor dog lying ill by the wayside. It
was near death, its lower body covered with maggot-infested sores.
His meditations had helped him to develop great compassion, and
so Asanga was moved to ease the animal's suffering. Naturally, he thought
of removing the maggots, but he realized that if he did that with his fingers,
he might injure them. (It is important to understand that in
the Buddhist view -- and that of Jains and many other people -- there is no
hierarchy in the realms of existence; each
one is a poor suffering individual like ourselves.) Therefore not to
injure any maggot but yet still relieve the dog, Asanga's solution was to crouch
down and gently skim off the maggots with his tongue.
The moment he did that, the dog disappeared and Bodhisattva
Maitreya appeared in its place. Asanga said, "I have longed to see you all
these many years. Why have you chosen this moment to appear to me?"
Maitreya replied, "I have always been with you, but before now
you were not able to see me. It was necessary for you to purify your mind
and develop your compassion sufficiently before it was possible for this to
happen.
To demonstrate the truth of what he had just said, the
Bodhisattva whose name is maitri or loyal friend (or,
loving-kindness) asked Asanga to pick him up, put him around his shoulders and
take a stroll through the neighboring village.
Once there, no one noticed anything unusual at all except for
one old woman, who asked, "What are you doing walking around like that with a
sick dog on you?"
Of course, no one saw Maitreya and most noticed nothing out of
the ordinary at all. This tale from the biography of Asanga* makes a lesser
and a greater point: There is no clean nor unclean, repugnancy comes from
learning. And more importantly, whatever we experience -- all of reality
-- depends only on the state of our mind.
*Asanga (ca. 300- 370 CE) was a brahmin
from Peshawar, so certainly ritual purity was a matter of
great importance to him before he left home. He is considered the founder of the Buddhist
approach called Yogachara, especially the branch known as Chittamatra or Consciousness-Only.
Kukuripa [Tib. Shiwa Sangpo] (ca. 1000) was one of the Mahasiddhas (one of the 84
greatest yogis) and one of Tilopa's teachers. He stayed not far from Pullahari in western Magadha, where he lived on an island
"in a poison lake," surrounded by dogs. One of the females reveals herself
as a dakini, and she is instrumental in his Realization, for
. . . he descended from paradise to rejoin her in the cave.
The dog leaped and pranced with joy when she caught sight of
her beloved master. But no sooner did he sit down and begin to
scratch her favorite spot, just behind the ears, than she vanished
from sight! There before him, wreathed in a cloud of glory, stood a radiantly
beautiful Dakini.
~ Keith Dowman's
Masters of
Enchantment. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions, 1988. [link
is to newer edition]
- See Kukkuripa's
white dog affectionately kissing his chin.
- Kukuraja was a Buddhist of brahmin origins who
practiced in a cave in the company of a dog. In the legends of Guru
Rinpoche, after some tantric scriptures landed on the palace roof, King
Indrabodhi brought them to Kukuraja for interpretation.
(Usually the two names are taken to refer to the same
person, but perhaps they were not.)
Kshitagarbha's Mother
The "Earthstore"
bodhisattva, is often assimilated to Yama, the Lord of the Hell Realm.
He
strives to help those who find themselves in the realm of great suffering, but
he does not judge them. Nevertheless, associated as he is with death, dogs
appear in his depictions and in accounts associated with him
In the Chinese tradition, he is frequently depicted accompanied by a dog which
relates to his dedication to the welfare of his mother, even after her death. It
is said that when he had learned that his mother had passed away, he immediately
hastened to the hell realm with a view to
comforting and seeking consideration for her there. He never did find her
there for she had already taken rebirth as a female dog.
His devotion to her was so great that upon his return to earth,
he found out where she was and arranged to adopt her as his constant companion.
Compassionate Dogs
- Oct. 4, 2004,
BBC News (photos 1-9) Every evening, a "lurcher" freed other caged dogs
so they could all raid the kitchen. They would return to their
quarters before the staff arrived in the morning.
- Read
about Ginny, (1998-2005) the righteous dog, who rescued not only cats, but
other animals too.
Dog-Worship? According to Roger A. Caras (A
Dog is Listening. NY: Summit, 1991) archaeologists have found,
at Ashkelon in today's Israel, a burial ground for over 750 dogs dating from
500-332 BCE, when the Persians ruled there. Each animal is buried with
care in its own grave, and over a third were no longer puppies when they died,
apparently of a variety of causes. One can only wonder at the role
these animals once played. Buddhists do not worship animals.
Hindus venerate them in their association with a particular deity, such as
the owl (Uluka) associated with goddess Laxmi.
In Nepal, "Every dog has its day"
on
Kukur Tihar ("Day of the Dog," the 2nd day of Diwali or Tihar)
The largest and best known of the
Himalayan regions is Tibet, but Tibet is not the only Himalayan
land. Outside the realms of geography and political science, the
word "Tibetan" is often used in this broadest sense.
There is a proverb saying that happiness is being accompanied on
one's travels by a dog. Also, dogs are believed to be a superior type of animal
possessing of a nature close to that of humans. Some gompas or
monastic institutions keep and care
for them in the belief that dogs are monks who could not maintain their
commitments, so that continued contact with the Buddha's
teachings is thought to help them in the future.
One lama is reported as saying that if someone disturbs you
while you are at your practice, ask them not to do it again. However, if a
dog seems to want something, attend to its needs. ~ S. Simsova,
Kagyu group at Yahoo! Aug. 2004.
The great master Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye
(d. 1899) in
The Torch of Certainty says,
"Once you have listened to a single brief discourse, If you lack respect
for your guru, You will be born a dog a hundred times, And a butcher after
that."
Following that logic, we would invite you to consider the moral
consequence for one who thinks little of abandoning a dog, whose essential
nature is not unlike that of humans.
http://memento-mori.artistswanted.org/exposure2011
Tibetan Dogs
Generally, the dogs of Tibet are not classed by Tibetans as
being of a certain breed but rather by size and function. Although
the distinctive features
of the various kinds are recognized, a dog is preferred according to how closely
it resembles the ones believed to have accompanied the
Buddha. Those animals resembling lions are said to be rakshasas in
disguise, who could regain their enormous size and ferocious character for
the protection of the Master and the Dharma.
-
"Many
unusual breeds found in Tibet ... " by Hon. Mrs. Eric Bailey (The
American Kennel Gazette, vol. 54, no. 3, Mar. 1, 1937. Louis de
Casanova, ed.)
-
M. Sundqvist's site (classifications in New Delhi,
1970.)
Tibetans living in the traditional manner did not traffic
in dogs since they were held in such high esteem. They only considered them
fitting as gifts, and an especially fine dog might be given to a monastery or to
an
individual lama as a donation.
Damchi ("tied dog") is the term for a guard dog. Like any kind of dog,
how they behave depends on how they are treated. The dogs that are
left loose to guard compounds and monasteries are often fierce.
Tibetan Mastiff
The Tibetan mastiff is a working dog
resembling a Newfoundland, and it functions as a herder's assistant and as a
caravan guardian. On their travels during which they regularly come into contact
with the dogs of villagers, they tend to interbreed with those, and so purebred
mastiffs (as most of the other ancient Asian breeds) are quite rare.
Last of the Dokhyi or "Phyu-khi," the Tibetan Mastiff:
"Over a gradual period of two decades or so, Sikkim has lost the Tibetan Mastiff, a magnificent pure breed of dog belonging
to the nomadic ‘Dokpas’ or Tibetan graziers in trans-Himalayan Sikkim. Lonely army personnel diluted the breed with
mongrels brought up as pet pups from lower altitudes to the cold desert. On finishing their stint in this difficult region, usually
over a year or two, they left leaving the dogs behind. These fed off the kitchen and mess wastes and multiplied over the
years. They have now taken to roaming in packs on the plateau in Chho Lhamo, Lhonak and Lashar, hanging around army
camps and the village of Thangu, preying upon wildlife and have even been seen swimming in the glacial lakes after Ruddy
Shelduck chicks. Of late they have taken to preying upon domestic livestock of the Dokpas.
The pure breed of Tibetan mastiff has been reduced to one very old male at Thangu Monastery. All other dogs are now
completely mongrelised. In order to save or revive the breed it is possible to purchase pedigree stock perhaps from remote
areas in Bhutan. The Dokpas are confident of training this master herder in the lost art of herding yak, sheep and goats on the
Tibetan plateau accompanied by a slingshot bearing Dokpa"
In Bhutan, dogs are noted for being friendly
although they tend to sleep all day and stay awake all night barking "to
keep evil spirits at bay." This night barking is still a notable
characteristic of the Tibetan mastiff.
"He had become a very handsome dog, with glossy black hair, pendent triangular ears,
short muzzle, high forehead, jet-black eyes, straight limbs, arched neck, and a most glorious tail curling
over his back." ~ p. 102, Himalayan
Journal,
with note to see woodcut 'of his father' in Vol. 1, p. 203.
Tibetan Terrier
This breed has a long coat resembling that of the Hungarian
Puli.
Tibetan Spaniel
Like the "TT" or Tibetan Terrier, which is not a terrier at all, the
smaller, smooth-coated Tibetan
Spaniel is not a spaniel.
This is still a
relatively rare animal that is possessed of unique qualities. It may have originated in
some beyul where its ancient
characteristics were protected as a consequence of isolation. Its place of
origin might be somewhere in West Tibet, where there was less chance that
these unique characteristics could be "eroded" by Chinese breeds like the popular
Shi-tzu, or the Lhasa Apso that is prevalent in central Tibet.
Traders may have
brought it to the Chumbi Valley between Sikkim and Bhutan, since contemporary
oral tradition traces it there. However, as that valley is a major trade
route, it seems unlikely that it is the actual place of origin. Some
Westerners have referred to the breed, especially those with longer muzzles, as "Damci" (pron. damchi)
but the east Tibetan expression does not actually refer to a particular breed but to any dog that is kept tied up,
especially the large guard dogs..
In Tibetan, the "spaniel" is called how-wa, which according to
the dictionary of S. C. Das means "primitive dog" or "hill
dog." (Mrs. Bailey, in 1937, wrote "ha-pa.")
They are also called Ri-kyi or mountain dog.
-
HH Karmapa (Jan. 2003) holding a Tibetan Spaniel, photo. (Yahoo!
Kagyu group, "photos" in files menu, items 13-23,
"karmapa1")
-
Comparison of the older
and newer breed standards for the "Tibbie."
Other Breeds
Shaggy, whiskered Lhasa Apsos ("capital city
grand-dads," although Mrs. Bailey derives apso from rabso
meaning goat -- reference to its long coarse hair) have been called "a cross between the lions that guard
buddhas and some monkeys" but that description fits a number of small east
Asian dogs. The Pekingese dog (of Chinese heritage) was also favoured for its
imagined resemblance to Buddha's lions, although today the Shi-tzu is preferred for
its conformity to the long-maned "snow lion" type.
The name, Shih-tzu originates from 1643, when the Manchu
rulers of China received a few "lion dogs" from the Dalai Lama, and so dogs of this type have retained the designation, tzu
meaning
"of the master or, lama."
Naming a Himalayan Dog If you are thinking of choosing a Tibetan name
for a dog, find out how the name is actually pronounced. One web site
decorated with incongruously arranged Tibetan syllables gives a long list of
such names, but many are merely repetitions using different English spellings for the same expression.
"Tashi" (auspicious one) is possibly the most popular
name for a Tibetan dog. "Yangchen" (melodious sound) is suitable for a dog
that
enjoys its own voice. As in any cultural context, it would not be considered respectful to choose the names of venerated figures.
At the time of the Walking of Creation, Gitchi-manitou sent Wolf
to keep Original Man company, but after that he ordered Original Man and Wolf
to go their separate ways.
(The wolf and the Anishnabe (Ojibway or "Western Cree") are considered
similar since both mate for life, have a clan and tribal system, have had their land taken,
been hunted for their hair, been pushed almost to destruction and are now
experiencing a time of recovery [at least in Canada.]) The dog was given
as a substitute, but since it is a relative of the wolf it should be kept separate from contemporary people and
away from sacred objects or rituals. To do otherwise would endanger people's lives.
~ Kevin L. Callahan, University of Minnesota.
White Dog
It was a custom of Iroquoian people to use a white dog as a
sacrificial scapegoat, and white
dogs have often been considered unlucky. In the Treasury of Good
Sayings, a Bon chronicle of Tibet, the coat of a white dog was dressed with
a poisonous substance by a son of King Trikum's widowed queen called Rulakye.
When it went home to the Bon ruler, Lonam, who had held the throne for 13 years,
he could not resist patting the dog and so he subsequently died.
Famous Dogs
In Euro-American lands, there are a number of monuments to faithful
dogs such as Robbie Burn's dog, Greyfriar's Bobby, a policeman's associate and in
New France, Dollard des Ormeaux' dog, Pilote.
-
Gander, the Newfoundland dog, mascot of the Royal Rifles of Canada, was awarded a
Dickin Medal ("the animal's Victoria Cross") for self-sacrifice during
the 1941 futile defense of Hong Kong.
-
The intelligent
and indomitable Balto, whose statue by F. G. Roth, graces NY's
Central Park.
Fu Dogs
Bronze or ceramic guardian or temple dog figures are not really dogs at all, though
they may be referred to as "Foo dogs" or "dogs of Fo (ie.
Buddha.)" They are an evolution of the
lions that support Buddha Shakyamuni's throne.
One Chinese eclipse myth tells how it is a celestial dog that
continuously tries to swallow the sun, and the male of the pair of Fo dogs is
usually shown playing with a splendid ball.
There is a relatively rare type
of dog of the Spitz family that resembles a Chow. It is called the Foo,
and was bred to resemble the guardian lion or T'ien Kou
[celestial] dog. Also known as the "Sacred
Dog of Sinkiang or "Chinese Choo Hunting Dog," it may derive its
common name from the ancient city of Foochow.
Dog Food
In Vietnam dogs were sacrificed to the indigenous gods in
rituals intended to induce rain. Dogs are eaten there during certain
periods of the lunar year in the belief that this meat contributes to virility
and longevity.
Dog Wars
The evening of July 19, 2001, the day before the decision by the
IOC to award the 2008 Olympic Games, when Beijing was considered first
choice (versus Paris and Toronto) despite its abysmal human rights' record that
includes the increased use of the death penalty, the kidnap and torture of
dissidents, and the rape and pillage of the land of Tibet, one American news
network ran a story about dogs.
It featured the importation, breeding and care of Swiss St.
Bernard dogs with a view to their use as an efficient source of protein for the
masses. A Shenyong facility was featured but the report said that there
are 20 such experimental farms in China. It seems that introducing a St.
Bernard into a line of mongrels can increase the average size of dogs by
50%. Dog meat, which we saw hanging, sold in the market and served in
restaurants, is high priced and is considered a delicacy. However, the
objective of the program is to use it for food more extensively.
The man whose job it is to prepare their feed and generally care
for them admitted that he did not think he could bring himself to eat
them.
" . . . but Weilin hopes that his venture will make dog meat an even
more popular commodity for the Chinese dinner table."
Though any compassionate person might agree that the government
of the PRC did not deserve to benefit from the allocation of any celebration of
international brother and sisterhood, this manipulation of our political
consciousness by activating the switch called "Happiness is a warm
puppy" [ popular book by Snoopy's creator, Charles M.
Schulz, 1987] was startling in its blatancy -- right up there with the
dog on the sampan in the film, Apocalypse Now.
China:
Plans for a Dog Meat Factory Near Beijing, article #6 from an archive at U. of Guelph, Ontario,
also provides context:
"Sensitive to its international image, South Korea closed
thousands of restaurants during the 1980s, prohibiting the sale of foods deemed
unsightly. Legal challenges to the ban met with some success however, and in
1997 Cho Yong-Sop opened the first of what he planned as a chain of dog meat
restaurants in Seoul. While it remains an unpopular habit in terms of
international relations, in Southeast Asia dog meat is big business. "
The throwaway pet
culture
results in huge numbers of stray dogs. This necessitates the WSPA to warn breeders against exporting pedigree dogs to areas where they
become delicacies.
The Chinese media may have started the puppy media wars. A translation
of a
Chinese newspaper article of Mar. 16, 2001:
"Since last year, cases of urban violence increase
steadily and some suburbs are getting very dirty. In addition, vagrant dogs
and rabid dogs are more and more numerous, and if this pest is not controlled,
it could threaten the organisation of the Olympic Games. A French friend
told me that dogs' feces are everywhere in the street of Paris and that it is
difficult to welcome the Olympic Games in such conditions."
-
Great
Leap Forward continued in PRChina in the Year of the Dog (2006):
Canadian media (Canoe web site) reported on Aug. 1/06 that, with 3 cases of
rabies reported, in one city 50,000 dogs were beaten to death.
Healing
Perhaps because they lick their wounds which generally heal
fairly quickly, dogs are associated with the healing process.
In Greece and Rome dogs were considered messengers of the
gods, and it was thought that they could smell out diseases. Special
healing dogs -- cynotherapists -- were kept in temples to comfort the
sick and dying, and to licked their wounds which sometimes caused a miraculous
recovery. Their divine patron was Hermanubis [Hermes + Anubis]
with the head of a dog on the body of a man.
~ Mary Elizabeth Thurston. The Lost
History of the Canine Race: Our 15,000-Year Love Affair With the Dog.
1996.
Nature (PBS tv Sept. 2008) shows a Mexican lady stricken
with arthritis using the very warm chola puppies to soothe the aches of
her painful joints.
A great-great-grandfather
of Tibetan yogi, Milarepa was Khyungpo Josay, a famous Nyingmapa able to
heal people using dog fat.
Oprah Lore
There are a few contemporary anecdotes that substantiate the
therapeutic ability of the dog. One relates how the pet of a woman with an
unusual growth on her leg used to sniff at it and bark. This behavior
impelled her to consult a doctor who discovered that the growth was a
particularly virulent skin cancer. The dog probably saved her life.
Another dog, a yellow Labrador called Mia, sniffed and pawed at
her mistress' chest with some regularity. When the dog finally leaped at
her with full force behind her paws, the woman felt quite a pain and went for
tests. Her life was probably saved as a result of the subsequent surgery
and treatment for the virulent cancer that was discovered there. ~
Oprah, of course.
Roger Carras (A Dog is Listening: The Way Some of Our Closest
Friends View Us. NY: Summit, 1992.) video recorded the
behaviour of a small mixed breed dog named Sheba as she "predicted"
Angie's epileptic seizures and then physically coaxed her into a spot in the
room where she would not hurt herself.
We have seen that dogs are associated with death, often in the
role of the guardian of the Underworld or Land of the Dead, eg. Cerberus,
the many-headed hound of Classical mythology. This association is an
actual one. As scavengers, packs of them performed an essential function
on fields of battle. Yet, perhaps by a kind of hermaneutic transformation,
they are equally associated with life, fertility and longevity.
Dog-gerel
There could be nothing more miserable or
lowly than a cur (>cu is Gaelic for hound.
Kuk or
kuch means dog or hound in many languages) except
perhaps a tooth from its corpse!
Cuon is the Greek for dog (cf. cu
as in the name of the Irish hero, Cuchullain) and the term was selected by
taxonomists (Cuon alpinus) to designate the dhole, a wild animal
sometimes classed as a Canid and sometimes not, that lives in mountainous
regions in India and other parts of Asia.
Since mongrel is a disparaging term
for a dog of mixed parentage, (today we say "random bred") a "mongrelization"
is not something to be proud of. The term is usually used for an
overly simplified and corrupted version of literature.
Tyke is another such expression. The negative
connotation was present in America until about 30 years ago but seems to have
disappeared when we spell it, tike, which refers to a little child.
And then there's a
mutt, from mutton; in other
words, a stupid dog with the intellect of a
sheep. The contrast in connotation of whelp
[random product of a mindless breeding]
and puppy [cute baby dog] reflect our ambivalence, but now consider the word dogged
[unflagging, determined persistence.] Dog Days of Summer: In the six weeks after
the solstice, the Dog Star, Sirius, appears in the night sky of the Northern
Hemisphere. It was once thought that this bright star contributed to
the heat characteristic of the beginning of August. There are
numerous expressions in the English language that refer to the miserable
existence of canines. We say someone is dog tired; he died like
a dog; their relationship is going to the dogs; she was once a
beauty, but now she looks like a dog’s breakfast; the business world is
dog eat dog.
Domestication
New findings show that the dog was domesticated from the Asian wolf
earlier than had been thought -- perhaps
before 20,000 BCE. Physical
evidence indicates it is the first of the animals to be domesticated by
humans. The remains of the 'Star Carr' dog found in Yorkshire, England
date to 7500 BCE and still clearly show wolf ancestry.
A most amazing trick was accomplished indeed when people
transformed the sheep-eater into the sheep's nanny.
-
Livestock
Guardians, AKC 1995.
-
Read about the
African
wild dog (Lycaon pictus) also called the
Cape
Hunting Dog. With ears like satellite dishes, it is a very social
canine that maintains injured pack members rather than killing them as
hyenas would. Its success at hunting is 85% compared to the lion who only
manages to catch less than 20% of its prey.
-
pre-Indian
bronze dog (Indonesia, c. 100 BCE) with harness.
The Boy Who Lived with Dogs
Wed., June 20, 2001, Santiago, Chile (Reuters) -- An abandoned
10-year-old boy found living in a cave and scavenging for food with a pack of
dogs became so thirsty that he forced himself to drink a bitch's milk,
child-care workers said on Tuesday.
Authorities took the boy, named Axel, into care last weekend after he spent
two years roaming a southern town with the dog pack.
The case has shocked Chile, a conservative South American nation that prides
itself on strong family ties.
Axel began running with 15 strays in the port town of Talcahuano after
escaping from a children's home. On cold nights, they would share a cave on
the outskirts of town, workers of Chile's National Child-care Service said.
In television footage, Axel was aggressive, swore at care workers and spoke in
short, surly phrases.
Asked whether he had drunk dog's milk as reported by police, he said,
"Yes." He stuck his tongue out and screwed up his face up in
disgust.
"You still drank it even though you didn't like it?" a journalist
asked the boy, now living in a children's center in the city of Concepcion.
"Yes, because I was thirsty. It was my breakfast," Axel replied.
Mother Dog "Lyla"
Wearing a smart red, white and gray top, he scribbled on pieces of paper and
cut out pictures with scissors. One of his drawings was of eight dogs of
different colors and sizes.
The most prominent figure was a large blue dog that resembled a poodle.
Underneath, was written the name "Lyla." A care worker said this was
the dog that suckled Axel.
"That dog was pregnant," the boy said.
Axel, who appeared healthy but had two front teeth missing, at times swore at
the woman care worker and threatened to throw scissors across the room. But he
also showed touches of tenderness.
He cut out a picture from a sheet of paper and tried to pin it to the lapel of
a television journalist.
Axel has had a tough life, child-care workers said.
"He was abandoned at the age of five by his parents, who were very
abusive. He was effectively thrown onto the streets," Delia Delgatto of
the child-care service told Reuters.
He was taken into a care center but escaped two years ago and teamed up with
street dogs in Talcahuano.
The boy and the pack foraged for food together, police said. "He would
eat out of garbage cans and find leftovers," Delgatto said.
City workers reported his case to the police who tried to seize him last
Saturday. But Axel threw himself into the wintry cold waters of the southern
Pacific Ocean to try to escape.
"A police officer dived into the water and saved him," a police
spokesman said.
Care workers said Axel would need long periods of counseling and would stay in
care for the foreseeable future. Delgatto said it was unlikely he would
be reunited with his parents.
Did you know . . . ?
Just a few grapes or raisins can harm a dog.
Macadamia nuts are even more dangerous, as are greenish potatoes or tomatoes and other similar solacaea.
Mushrooms can be harmful, too, so a slice of pizza is a very bad idea --
there could be more than one dangerous thing on it.
Caffeine (the active ingredient in coffee, tea, cola and
many so-called sports drinks) can also harm a dog.
Avocados are sufficiently harmful to cause death.
Chocolate
is very dangerous, too, for fatal kidney failure can result if it is ingested.
Onions
and similar bulbs especially garlic should be avoided, despite the fact that pet food
manufacturers seem not to care and many products include it. Fatal haemolytic anemia can result.
Xylitol, a sweetener derived from the sap of the birch
tree* and found in chewing gum,
baked goods and oral health products, can kill a dog within 15 minutes of
ingestion. *A whole line of soft drinks is being sold under
the Birch Tree label -- do not share them with your dog.
-
Female
dog urine contains higher concentrations of salts such as urea, ammonia and
potassium than that of the males. This kills the grass or causes stains
similar to fertilizer burn. You can train your dog to use a specific area
of the lawn to relieve itself or follow her with a watering can and dilute the
spot she picks by drenching it.
-
Alaskan
scientists have found a way to convert dog manure for use in flower gardens (not
for use with food crops because of risk of disease.) They say to use 2
parts poo + 1 part sawdust, rotate in a drum regularly, and keep at 145 degrees
F.
_____________________________________________________________________ Spaniel:
Word meaning "Spanish" ie. from Espana or Spain,
the country where the breeding of pet animals was a specialty. By about
the 15th century, the Spaniards had developed 400 breeds of rabbit, for example.
A breed is a genetic lineage in which the parents invariably produce offspring
that resemble themselves, at least in discernible ways. The spaniel
is a medium-to-small dog of generally placid temperament that is characterized
by a smooth silky coat, soulful expression and droopy ears. The style used
to be
to dock [cut very short] the tail. A spaniel is often especially devoted to one
person. Tibetan names: Tibetan orthography
[way of spelling] uses many kinds of unpronounced letters to distinguish between one meaning and
another. Also, there are a number of different systems in use for
transliterating into European languages such as English. Try to find out
how to say the name correctly, otherwise you might be saying something rude or nonsensical.
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