August 26 is International Dog Day, which is a great opportunity for dog owners around the world to show off their furry best friends – not that they need a reason to do that! We believe there’s no better way to celebrate this day in Egypt than by commemorating the nation’s most common dog type: the baladi dog. Characterized by their slim build, curled tails and oftentimes pointy ears, baladi dogs originate from several different breeds, estimated to be descendants of the Egyptian Saluki, Pharaoh Hounds, and Canaan dogs. Baladi dogs are also believed to have originated in ancient Egypt as hunting and herding dogs and are sometimes referred to as Thebes Land Dogs. In fact, one baladi dog called Amal (Hope), who was rescued off the streets of Cairo, showed fascinating results when her owners got her a DNA test at Embark, which carries out DNA testing on dogs for breed identification. Her DNA showed that she is an indigenous ancestral dog with roots tracing back 15,000 years. Like Amal, many of Egypt’s stray dogs are walking pieces of history. Baladi dogs are the most common type of stray…
