Chihuahua – The pocket-sized companion with a king-sized heart!

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198 – September, 2020

By Lee Conner

Mexico was the destination of my first long-haul flight and it will always have a special place in my heart. So enamored was I by that very first trip to Cancun (in my twenties) that, over the succeeding years, I have revisited the country numerous times, taking in its breath-taking Mayan ruins, pristine beaches and, of course, its stunning wildlife.

Throughout my rambles across Mexico I have often noticed–usually snarling on the front seat of my taxi or running after me down a dusty road–Chihuahuas or, more correctly, Chihuahua-type dogs.

Dogs, of course, have always featured heavily in Mexican culture. The Mayans (a truly fascinating people) kept a small dog known as the Techichi and, although this must have been a much larger animal than our modern-day mites, it’s more than possible that this was the ancestor of the modern-day Chihuahua.

These dogs were ritually fattened for the pot although it is conjectured that the tiniest ones could have had other spiritual value or have been kept as pampered pets for the elites.

It is also a well-established fact that the pre-Conquest people also kept these little dogs because they believed they would act as guides for the dead – leading them to a state of everlasting bliss.

Click here to read the complete article
198 – September, 2020

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Posted by AnthonyA on Sep 18 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.