I had been unaware of the existence of the woolly dog let alone that they had become extinct about 150 years ago. My wife on the other hand knew of them.
That’s why I was so interested in this piece in the Smithsonian Magazine by Alicia Ault about them:
For thousands of years, the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest had what might have seemed a curious tradition to outsiders: They kept and periodically sheared fluffy white dogs, generating wool to weave into spiritually important blankets and ceremonial garments. The woolly dogs, which resembled current-day Samoyeds, were not pets. The Coast Salish people considered them to be close relatives, on par with humans, and believed they had wisdom to share. The keepers—mostly women—had a certain wealth and status. They gave the dogs a special diet that included salmon and other marine life, and they protected the animals from breeding with village dogs.
Yet, by the late 19th or early 20th century, the woolly dogs were extinct.
If you scroll down to the artist’s reconstruction of the beast. What struck me is that I am living with the extinct woolly dog. If nothing else convinces you that the people in the Pacific Northwest and their animals arrived here from Asia, that should do it. For all the world it looks like a small Samoyed.
In the book ” The History of Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, there is an account which specifically mentions that ” in the 19th century, Nanoose Bob kept about a dozen long-haired dogs which were shorn and the hair mixed with swamp grass or shredded bark to be woven into –blanket robes or bedding.’ Nanoose Bob died in 1932 at around 93 years old. As an aside, at some point the wife of one of the English clergy showed the local natives how to card and spin wool from the sheep the settlers had brought over. I imagine this supplanted the dog hair/swamp grass. cloth. The book mentions the Nanoose Bobs’ great granddaughter mentioning that she and her mother gathered and spun sheeps wool . Cowichan sweaters are a current example of this process.
So interesting.
I’m wondering now which animal would be easier to keep and sustain in the conditions, I would think the dog, but then they’re gone….
Dave, why are there no images displayed by commentators on your blog? Can it be done?
Grey Shambler: I’m wondering now which animal would be easier to keep and sustain in the conditions, I would think the dog
Dogs don’t eat grass.