One of the oldest dog breeds, is facing serious extinction risk. Here is why…

The dog breed we are talking about is Canaan. It is one of the oldest dog breeds in the world, and it is also a really rare breed. Many actually believe that Canaan was the first dog breed that got adopted by humans. Unfortunately recently, Shaar Hagai Canaans, which is the only kennel in the world that specializes in the breed, was ordered closed by the Israeli government. Since the owner of the kennel thinks that this decision is not right, she is trying to find a new way to keep this kennel “alive.” She has launched a Gofundme to increase funds to at least find a new home for her dogs.

In the following picture you will see the kennel’s owner, Myrna Shiboleth, a celebrated breeder of the Canaan dog. She has worked really hard hard to ensure the breed’s survival. She moved to Israel to the United States nearly 46 years ago, and during this whole time she has raised hundreds of Canaan dogs, which makes a considerable percentage of the breed’s population.

Canaan is a pure, natural dog breed, and because of that, this breed is free of the health and genetic problems that affect the newer breeds mostly. Unfortunately this dog is facing extinction because of the small number of the living population. The pressure of this problem arises even more, if the owner of the kennel does not find an appropriate place to relocate the dogs.

“We were looking for a place that wouldn’t bother anyone, that was isolated,” Shibboleth said. “The place had been abandoned since the British left.”

According to the Israel Land Authority the property where the kennel is located, belongs to the state, and it is not open for the public. Since Shiboleth did not leave the property when they were informed, now they have been evicted, and need to leave the property by mid April. “We never claimed to be the owners; we just wanted to live here. Nobody asked us for rent; nobody was willing to talk to us at all,” Shiboleth said.

“This is one of the only breeds of dogs that still exists that is completely natural. We feel it’s very important to preserve them, because they are Israeli and because they are the original dog. This is the dog that existed for thousands of years, exactly as he is now.”

Source: Barkpost