“The hairless Peruvian Pooch”

“They are neither diseased, nor street mutts, but rather a fine specimens of the Peruvian Hairless, declared a distinct breed by Kennel Club International in 1986.”  Favored by Inca nobles, Peruvian Hairless, are ‘legendary’ for their healing properties; they are often ‘tucked into the beds of sick people suffering rheumatism’ and contact with tier skin is believed to cure asthma in children.  Besides being completely hairless, the dogs are distinctive due to their body temperature, which is higher than normal.  Furthermore, there exist accounts of these dogs as far back as 4,000 years ago and in 2001 the Peruvian government declared the bread to be a national treasure!

Unfortunately, during my last trip to Peru, I never encountered this incredible breed of dog!  Lucky for me, they are especially famous around Trijillo and a number of them call Huca de la Luna home, thus I knew I would get the chance to see one on this trip!  Note the sarcasm…don’t get me wrong, this breed has an interesting history and I’m glad I got to see them in person, but seriously they are ugly!! (sorry!)  I actually think I slightly offended my guide with my reaction…oops.  I am sure he is used to it though!  Reading about them, beforehand, in my guidebook, I was kind of prepared, or at least I thought so.  However, they were even uglier than I had even imagined.  Just picture an enormous hairless rat that is sunburned and diseased, and there you have it!!  My guide attempted to convince me that the one we saw was not a good example; apparently someone didn’t remember to moisturizer and apply sunscreen to the dog after its bath (!?!) thus it looked even more diseased than normal!  Definitely glad I got the chance to see this famous perro, however, I can not imagine ever wanting one as a pet let alone sharing my bed with it!