The Quagga

August 12.  And did you know that on this day in 1883,  the last quagga died at a zoo in the Netherlands.  Don't know what a quagga is?  Well no wonder.  They became extinct.  They were from Africa - and they looked kind of like zebras - except they were only striped on the front half of their bodies - and the rest of them was a solid brownish color.  Yup - today was the day they disappeared.  BUT - some good news.  Scientists are working with DNA and trying to "bring back" the quagga.  Now some argue that you can't bring back the same species - but with some fancy selective zebra breeding, they are breeding animals that certainly LOOK like quaggas.   They are actually called Rau Quaggas - named after one of the scientists working on the project.  I guess they are quasi quaggas.

I've talked before about the fact that there are currently some dog breeds on the verge of extinction - and it's a topic of relevance in our household because both Polish Lowland Sheepdogs AND Berger Picards were close to becoming extinct after WW II.  I think that's probably the case with many rare breeds.  But a committed group of enthusiasts who love a breed, start looking at what they can do to save it.   And voila - because of the efforts of those early breeders, you are able read about the antics of two of these crazy rare breeds every day.  Sometimes my human understands why we nearly became extinct...

But the bottom line with purebred dogs - ALL purebred dogs, rare or not, is that people need to work together to save breeds from extinction.  Dog show ribbons are pretty - but beneath it all, health is what counts.  People have to be open,  and honest and breeders need to be selective - and KNOW what happens to their puppies.  Otherwise, we could go the way of the quagga...

OK. Time to get off my soapbox and go for a walk. Or play another game of fetch.  And TRY to stay  out of trouble, so I don't become extinct.  Today.

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up!