Monday 25 February 2013

Egyptian dog collar

Humans have had canine companions going back at least 12,000 years and there is proof that dog collars have been in use prior to 3100 B.C. Archaeologists unearthed a dog buried with the pre-dynastic King Cuo of China wearing a collar of gold, silver, and turquoise. At the peak of ancient Egyptian civilization, collars and leads were standard for dog training and dogs wearing them were commonly found as motifs on tomb walls and earthenware. The dog collars of the day were beautiful works of art made out of leather, embellished with copper, bronze and gold. The collars were made in one long strip, and then glued or sewn together. This very fashionable collar is one of two discovered by the French explorer Loret in the tomb of the ancient Egyptian nobleman Maiherpri (1440 B.C.). The two leather collars were pink and both depicted hunting scenes embossed into the leather with one of the collars featuring the dog's name: “Tantanuit.”

Sunday 17 February 2013

Puppy trafficking

I read this in today's Sunday Times: "Thousands of pedigree puppies are being brought into the UK illegally from Poland, Bulgaria and Romania and sold at discount prices. The relaxation of the pet passport scheme, which banned dogs from travelling for six months after rabies tests, has prompted the influx. Many of the puppies, bred in poor conditions, are being passed off as British-born, with fake papers, according to the Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest canine welfare charity. And not all are cheap. Fashionable breeds, including French bulldogs and chihuahuas, are being sold for up to £4,000 each, via the internet or by the roadside. British vets have expressed concern that they are seeing puppies, some a few weeks old, which have been forced to travel hundreds of miles across Europe. Many have been seized when they are taken to the vet and the owners are told their pet passports are fake". Ozzy's passport has been checked recently upon arrival in Dover. Surely DEFRA could set up a systems for checking dogs coming into the UK.