The name of this breed is said to be an ancient Inca word, but there has been some confusion concerning its precise identity.
Writing in the 18th century, Buffon mentioned the existence of a small Peruvian breed of dog called the Alco and later, in 1840, Charles Hamilton Smith gave the breed a whole section to itself, describing it as a little companion dog: All writers agree that it is a small animal, kept as a kind of lapdog by the women, and yet occasionally returning to the state of independence.’
By that date of 1840, one example had already been brought to Europe. where its stuffed body had been put on exhibition as a curiosity. That particular individual was illustrated by Smith and was described as having rather a large head, pendulous ears, and long, soft hair on its body. In colour it was ‘white, excepting a large black spot covering each ear, and part of the forehead and cheek, with a fulvous mark above each eye, and another black spot on the rump; the tail was rather long, well fringed and white’.
The difficulty with this breed stems from the fact that several authors have identified it as hailing from Mexico. The example sent to Europe was itself ‘brought from Mexico’ by an enterprising traveller called Mr W. Bullock. It is possible that he acquired it in Peru and then took it to Mexico before shipping it home to England. Unfortunately this led to its being labelled as a Mexican Dog, regardless of the fact that it has an Inca name.
Leave a Reply