Horacio Almanza and a World Heritage dog breed.CNN
Mexico already enjoys a prominent place in the world in terms of World Heritage Sites. Indeed, it has more such designations than any other country in the Americas, and ranks sixth in the world with such historied places as Palenque, Oaxaca and 30 more.
Now there’s a campaign under way to add another, but this time it’s a dog.
Horacio Almanza, a geneticist and molecular biologist, believes that the Mexican canine species xoloitzcuintle, or xolo for short, should be considered for World Heritage status by Unesco.
Almanza wants to see the original species preserved and studied to be able to identify the characteristics of the dog. Among those characteristics are its short face, its gait and absence of hair, and the three sizes in which it comes.
But in many countries the species is being crossed with other breeds, such as the German shepherd and the greyhound, and the offspring are born with hair. Around the world, says Almanza, the xolo is well regarded.
“People like it, it is seen as being rare and different.”
The world’s largest breeding kennel is Criadero Caliente in Tijuana, where businessman Jorge Hank Rhon has some 600 xoloitzcuintles. His dogs have won 150 world championships and 250 international titles, says kennel director Ricardo Forastieri González, who describes the breed as having “a marvelous character.”
The breed, which is the national dog of Mexico, is believed to have existed here for more than 3,000 years. It was considered sacred by the Aztecs, who regarded the meat as a delicacy.
The xolo won’t be found on dinner tables today, but it is valued as a good companion.
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