hairless dog

There is breed of dog in Peru that is has no hair and dates back to pre-Inca times. They kind of look like pigs to me. I called them “chancho perro” (pig dog) and don’t know what the real name is. Sara and I went to visit some Moche archeological sites when we were in Peru last week and at the Huaca de la Luna, apparently they are required to have hairless dogs on the premises because they are cultural icons of Peru. We were told that these things produce an irregular amount of body heat, which is the opposite of what you would think, but I guess they compensate for the lack of a natural jacket. Because of this, it is commonly understood that holding them helps with respiratory illnesses. Hmmm. I don’t want to sound skeptical, but if I went to the doctor with bronchitis and he said, “just go home and hug a hairless dog for an hour,” I would ask for my co-pay back.

The Peruvian hairless dog is scared of Sara