Share
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
It's not often that a registered breed of dog starts with a castoff that even the pound didn't want and a stray plucked out of the woods. But it is even less likely that such animals would provide one of those rare "Eureka!" moments in science, drawing back the curtain on both evolution and human culture, and providing clues to the mysterious origins of the long, fruitful partnership that exists between humans and canines.
I. Lehr Brisbin, a senior ecologist at the Savannah River Ecology Lab in Aiken, South Carolina, breeds and studies what he calls the Carolina dog: a scrawny, medium-sized animal with a reddish-yellow coat, upright ears and a whiplash tail curling up over its back — what rural Southerners have long called a "yaller" dog. Through his work with Carolina dogs, Brisbin hopes to gain a better understanding of their origins and possible relationship to other so-called primitive dogs throughout the world, such as dingoes in Australia, New Guinea singing dogs and the so-called pariah dogs of the Old World. His research on a group of Carolinas has revealed that they share traits and behaviors with the other primitive groups, and preliminary DNA studies reveal a possible linkage.
The size, appearance and behavior of the Carolina dogs also suggest they might be a relic of the first dogs to enter the Southeast region thousands of years ago. Early paintings and ancient rock art depict dogs with Native Americans that appear remarkably similar to the Carolinas.
Comments
Litarature describes Carolina dogs habit of killing snakes by snapping them like a whip.When I was young in the 1940's in rural Georgia I saw kids and adults both kill dangerous snakes the same way.I was told everyone there learned trick when young.
Posted by ed l on March 3,2009 | 10:17 PM
Our Carolina Dog has amazed us with his strength and agility. He easily clears a five foot fence, will trot for miles and swims a mile without hesitation or exhaustion. He is a bane to raccoons, hunting them fearlessly in the marshes and battling as readily in the water as on the bank. I have twice had to release a seven foot rat snake that he grabbed from the rocks along our causeway and it was obvious from his effortless handling of the powerful snake that he knew instintively how to kill it.
He is gentle and friendly with children and generally with other dogs unless they are aggressive toward him. His favorite misbehaviour is to escape over the fence or swim down the river to the five mile long beach and trot along the beach greeting one and all frequently joining a family or another dog for a short distance along the way. Our police station and fire station is at the half way mark and they joke that Scuppers frequently trots into the station to "turn himself in."
Despite his friendly manner, when at home he will eventually retreat to the house when a stranger is on the premises and his formidable appearance is sufficient to discourage approaching an entrance without our approval.
Posted by O. Grady Query on December 5,2009 | 03:37 AM