Dogs of War – 1,000 Feral Dogs in Baghdad
January 5, 2009
In Islamic culture there is no history of keeping dogs as pets, they are considered unclean animals. The idea of having a pet dog, as opposed to a working dog, is seen as a recent, Western notion and is embraced by very few. There are no dog shelters or rescue groups in Iraq. When the population goes hungry, the dogs starve.
Now there is the problem of the feral dogs, seen as disease carriers and a direct danger to children and the elderly. In Baghdad 13 people died in August 2008 in the capital after being attacked by dogs and the only controversy is over how to eliminate them. Currently, rifles (above) and poisoned meat are the preferred methods.
(Source.)
World’s First Dog lived 31,700 years ago, according to new study
October 29, 2008
From MSNBC.com:
An international team of scientists has just identified what they believe is the world’s first known dog, which was a large and toothy canine that lived 31,700 years ago and subsisted on a diet of horse, musk ox and reindeer, according to a new study.
The discovery could push back the date for the earliest dog by 17,700 years, since the second oldest known dog, found in Russia, dates to 14,000 years ago.
Remains for the older prehistoric dog, which were excavated at Goyet Cave in Belgium, suggest to the researchers that the Aurignacian people of Europe from the Upper Paleolithic period first domesticated dogs. Fine jewelry and tools, often decorated with depictions of big game animals, characterize this culture.
If Paleolithic dogs still existed as a breed today, they would surely win best in show for strength and biting ability.
“In shape, the Paleolithic dogs most resemble the Siberian husky, but in size, however, they were somewhat larger, probably comparable to large shepherd dogs,” added Germonpré, a paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
For the rest of the article, go here.