Dubai
We try to find good permanent homes for all our dogs, but through no fault of their own, some seem to be unlucky and tend to be overlooked. These include the local “desert dogs” or “wadi dogs”, as some call them. Many expatriates look for breeds they are familiar with or prefer to buy a breed in the belief they will be healthier.
So, here are the results of a DNA study of our Hux. After looking at over 200,000 of his genes on 78 chromosomes, we humans have only 46, here is what the geneticists found. He is 100 per cent purebred, with only a trace of other breeds detected. This could well be from distant common ancestors.
He is not, as some refer to his type, a desert mix, but an ancient and historically significant Landrace, the type seen in the oldest known depiction of dogs living with humans found in Saudi Arabia!
He has none of the over 160 known genetic health problems found in many modern breeds and is not even a low risk carrier. His coefficient of inbreeding is higher than some of these dogs, but many purebred are higher.
This should not be a problem for any of these dogs as they will not be used for further breeding and are all healthy.
Hux was brought in from the municipality pound with his brothers and sisters. Several of his siblings have found homes, but because he is white, with a short coat, he is constantly overlooked.
He is a lovely boy, will sit for treats and walks nicely on the lead. His best feature is his absolutely enormous ears. He was born in October, 2017.
We hope these results and his lovely personality may encourage more people to consider homing one of these forgotten gems of the Middle East. Feel free to browse through his results on www.embk.me/hux2.
You can meet Hux by calling K9 Friends on 048878739.
— The reader is the former managing director and now senior advisor and social media in-charge at K9 Friends.
