Animals in Peru

No Surprise: Obamas Nix Peruvian Hairless Dog

Image of Obama and Peruvian hairless dog created by Canadian blogger LeDaro (http://ledaroblogspot.com)
Image of Obama and Peruvian hairless dog created by Canadian blogger LeDaro (http://ledaroblogspot.com)

I knew it wouldn’t happen. Everyone in Peru knew it was a long shot. But somehow, when it was officially announced this month that the Obamas were not adopting a Peruvian hairless dog, I felt keenly let down.

No Peruvian in the White House. Rats.

The new presidential pooch will be a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound sourced from a shelter, Obama’s office says. 

That seems a tall order — finding a little-known breed in your corner ASPCA — but it’s inevitable that one will be found, or rather, will be taken from a breeder, inserted in a humane shelter and then handed to Obama at a photo op [note of cynicism in a usually sincere blog].

As uncommon as Labradoodles and Portuguese water hounds are, they aren’t all-out rare, like the Peruvian hairless dog. There are so few in the United States that about ten people have contacted me at this blog, asking if I can help them find one. That’s how desperate they are to find a little bald Peruvian.

Anyone who visits An American in Lima regularly knows that I am positioned on the sidelines of this Peruvian hairless dog thing, watching with amusement. I don’t know breeders but I do see Peruvian hairless dogs out and about in Lima, which makes me think it wouldn’t be too hard to fly to Lima and buy one here to take back to England or to the States.

Now that the news is in about The Dog Decision, the Peruvian hairless dog’s 15 minutes of fame are over. The dog will go back to being yet another typical oddity on the Peruvian landscape — like frog milkshakes, spitting llamas, men dancing with scissors and entrees of roast guinea pig — beloved by Peruvians and consistently misunderstood by outsiders.

While I’m let down about the Hairless Decision, I’m also relieved for Obama’s sake. It was obvious for political reasons that Obama needed to make a statement relevant to the United States with his choice of a pet, and there was no possibility of him being able to do so with a Peruvian hairless, with is 100% Peruano — pre-Colombian Peruano, at that.

No, better that the Peruvian hairless remain a cult favorite abroad and a symbol of national pride in Peru.

But, for the record, I wasn’t a lone voice in the blogsphere rooting for the Obamas to adopt the Peruvian hairless dog. A poll that ran on American in Lima in November shows that 87% of this blog’s readers favored the pet for the new First Family.

Perhaps in the future, a U.S. citizen of Peruvian origin will make it to the White House, and then it will be time for a dog like Ears to curl up on the rug on the Oval Office.

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.

7 Comments

  • Rachel in Peru

    That would have been neat to see a Peruvian hairless in the White House, but I guess they need a dog that’s more photogenic. 😉

    From what I have been told (and I may be wrong), Peruvian Hairless dogs cannot be taken from Peru. They are considered cultural patrimony.

    The closest you can come to finding a Peruvian hairless outside of the U.S. is in Mexico, which the Mexicans have tried to claim as their own; hence why the dog became “cultural patrimony” of Peru.

    Peruvian hairless dogs do exist in the U.S., but they are few and far between.

  • Barb

    Interesting, Rachel, if it’s true that PHs cannot be removed from Peru.

    Can anyone verify this?

    I know that the dogs are considered cultural patrimony and that museums and archeological sites through the country feature pairs of the dogs onsite.

  • Barb

    I just found this unsympathetic comment about a Peruvian hairless dog on a very pro-canine website: The Daily Dachshund. The blogger is betting that the Obamas will go for a photogenic Bichon Frise because…

    “The Bichon is also a girl dog, adorable and fluffy, unlike that Peruvian Hairless Dog that was offered up like a bad Christmas gift.”

    As that comment (“bad Xmas gift”) shows, not everyone in the dog world is partial to Peru’s national dog.

    But I’d imagine that a BF would irritate Malia’s allergies, no?
    link: http://dailydachshund.blogspot.com/2008/11/lets-start-betting-on-new-first-dog.html

  • Barb

    You got it, babe. Will post.

    (See “Peru Froggie Milkshake” under PERU LINKS, right.)

  • PerrosinPelophile

    Peruvian Hairless Dogs can be exported; I brought one to the US 2 years ago. Mexico does not claim it as their own. They have a distinct hairless breed, also their national patrimony, the Xoloitzcuintle. I have both breeds, they are very different from each other. In both breeds 25% of the puppies are born coated, Mexico has conceded (finally) and recognized them for breeding if not for the show ring, Peru has yet to do so. Both breeds are much more than bald dogs – they have very interesting breed traits and personalities unlike other breeds.

  • Mary

    Hello! I am actually a proud owner of a lovely little Peruvian hairless. They are actually a protected species in Peru and need licensure to be exported. It’s not too difficult to obtain, but they do not promote the exporting of the pups because, as an earlier poster said, they are considered “cultural patrimony.”

    A friend of mine owns a breeding pair (Max & Frieda) and actually had a very hard time giving away the three hairless and two “powder puffs” from the litter they had last year. When last I checked, there were about a dozen registered owners of the Peruvian Hairless in the United States, and people are seeking more in hopes of diversifying the bloodlines and increasing the hardiness of the breed in the States.

    Anyway, I know this is a late post, but I just thought I’d throw in my two cents about the export laws 🙂

    Thanks,

    Mary