Peruvian Hairless Dog Day is an annual celebration of a rare “bald” beauty, and we’ve uncovered a few fun facts about the breed to mark the occasion!
When is Peruvian Hairless Dog Day?
Fans of the folically-challenged breed mark this pet holiday each year on June 12th. The date was chosen to commemorate the day in 1985 when the Peruvian Hairless Dog was officially recognized as a breed by the Thuin, Belgium-based organization the International Cynological Federation.
Fun Facts about The Peruvian Hairless Dog
The pride of Peru, on October 22, 2001 the breed was deemed the national dog of its native country!
The history of the Peruvian Hairless Dog can be traced back as far as 750 AD, when ancient Moche artisans sculpted the dogs’ likeness on pottery. The breed was also immortalized by the Incas and the Chimu people.
The Chimu people believed that the Peruvian Hairless Dog was a portent of good luck!
This breed is also commonly called the Peruvian Inca Orchid! Other names often associated with the breed include the Peruvian Viringo, the Inca Hairless Dog, Moonflower Dog, Perros Flora, Perro Sin Pelo de Peru, Chimu dog and the Calato (naked) dog.
This breed is usually missing molars and premolar teeth, due to the same gene which has caused their baldness.
Long live the Peruvian Hairless Dog! The life span for this breed is approximately 12 – 14 years.
Although their claim to fame is their baldness, there is a lesser-known coated variety of the Peruvian Hairless Dog.
Much like the Xoloitzcuintli, or Mexican Hairless Dog, the Peruvian Hairless Dog has helped to alleviate people’s arthritic pain thanks to the warmth of their bodies.
Although they ultimately welcomed a Portuguese Water Dog they named Bo, former President Barack Obama and his family were offered a four-month-old Peruvian Hairless Dog named Ears by Peru’s Friends of the Hairless Dog Association.
The breed was not introduced to the United States until 1966, when Jack Walklin (who coined the name Peruvian Inca Orchid) brought back eight of the dogs from Peru to America.
The Peruvian Hairless Dog is not the only breed to sport the “bald” look. As their name suggests, the American Hairless Terrier, the Chinese Crested and the Xoloitzcuintli, or Mexican Hairless Dog, also have no, or very sparse, fur.