a bit about dogs
First off, get your pets vaccinated!
Secondly, I just ran across an article on the Damn Interesting blog about Puffin Dogs. The lundehund was bred in Norway to catch puffins, which were a major food source, but roosted on inaccessible cliffs. These dogs are polydactyl, but the extra toes are fully functional. They are also extraordinarily flexible and lithe, to fit in the tiny caves to catch the birds. What I find most fascinating about the lundehund is how the breed was saved from extinction. A breeder in another part of Norway requested some puppies and they reached her just as distemper hit their farm. She sent more puppies, from a later litter, back to the same farmer just before distemper reached her farm. There is no way that either of them could have known when the disease would strike, so it's pretty much a miracle that they could save this incredible breed.
Her timing was fortunate. In 1942, while the vaccine was unobtainable due to WWII, canine distemper struck Værøy and the surrounding islands, wiping out all but one of the known Lundehunds. The farmer who had sent Mrs. Christie the puppies now called to her for help. She responded by sending two pregnant bitches and two puppies. Once again, the timing was fortunate. Had she not done so, it is likely the Lundehund would not exist today, for in 1944 distemper struck Mrs. Christie's own dogs, wiping out all but her one original male.
Source: The Norwegian Puffin Dog
Secondly, I just ran across an article on the Damn Interesting blog about Puffin Dogs. The lundehund was bred in Norway to catch puffins, which were a major food source, but roosted on inaccessible cliffs. These dogs are polydactyl, but the extra toes are fully functional. They are also extraordinarily flexible and lithe, to fit in the tiny caves to catch the birds. What I find most fascinating about the lundehund is how the breed was saved from extinction. A breeder in another part of Norway requested some puppies and they reached her just as distemper hit their farm. She sent more puppies, from a later litter, back to the same farmer just before distemper reached her farm. There is no way that either of them could have known when the disease would strike, so it's pretty much a miracle that they could save this incredible breed.
Her timing was fortunate. In 1942, while the vaccine was unobtainable due to WWII, canine distemper struck Værøy and the surrounding islands, wiping out all but one of the known Lundehunds. The farmer who had sent Mrs. Christie the puppies now called to her for help. She responded by sending two pregnant bitches and two puppies. Once again, the timing was fortunate. Had she not done so, it is likely the Lundehund would not exist today, for in 1944 distemper struck Mrs. Christie's own dogs, wiping out all but her one original male.
Source: The Norwegian Puffin Dog