But she has a nice personality…

Half the Unknown Universe discovers Xoloitzcuintlis, which have a much nicer personality than their well-known descendants, the Chihuahuas.

The Mexico City Zoo has a pack, not because they’re a wild animal, but because they were practically wiped out as a breed, and because so many Mexicans had never seen them.  Though originally just a Mexican housedog, they also served as a guide and companion in Mixtlan, the afterlife. The little terra-cotta doggie statues you see sold around ruins are copies of a common grave offering.

And in a society without a lot of tasty domestic animals beyond turkeys (which are very low in fat), added a little flavor to the soup.

Lately, they’ve become fashionable, under the name “Raza Azteca”, which means a lot of the ones you see are as neurotic as the fresas that own them.  Quade, at Half the Unknown Universe, interviewed a breeder whose puppies start at about 10,000 pesos. 

You can see why they nearly disappeared as a breed.  You can get a generic dog for free in Mexico.  I had two nice, normal dogs — Eva Perra (like her namesake, a blonde of uncertain parentage — cocker and sheltie and and who knows — a friend to all, but always looking out for her own advantage) and Iztaccihuatl, a poodle pup I found one night huddled in an abandoned doorway, so named because I had to give her a bath before I realized the little brown boy was a “white lady.”  They were typical Mexican dogs… hung out, begged for snacks at the local comida economia (the Señora was very kind to them, and rather tolerant of the little mooches) and… shed everywhere and full time flea markets. 

But the price was right.  Xoloitzcuintlis are a nice apartment sized dog …about the same size and weight of Eva Perra, around 25 pounds (10 kg) and maybe 15 inches high (0.4 m) , not real fussy, intellegent, affectionate and  bark only when necessary  (hard to believe they degenerated into Chihuahaua!). 

As an added bonus, they keep your feet warm at night without getting doggie hair all over your bed.  Or give the fleas anywhere to hide out. Ok, they do look kinda weird, but hey, they’re a dog.. they don’t care. 

Keep the Mex Files in kibbles, and I won’t have to cook the dog…