Last week, John was visiting at a neighborhood friend’s house,  when the visit was interrupted by a young woman who came to the door dressed in black ninja gear. Our friend reached into his pocket and paid the woman 50 pesos and then proceeded to sign a book that she offered. John, thinking that there was probably a good story behind this, asked our friend what was going on. Our friend explained that the woman represented the neighborhood vigilantes who policed the area on bicycles (mainly at night) and blew whistles when they detected any kind of trouble or suspicious behavior. When a whistle is blown the other vigilantes rush to help their comrade, do whatever they do with the bad guy, and thus, keep the neighbors safe. Wow!

John asked if there was a big problem with crime in the area. Our friend said no, because of the ninja team, but exclaimed that he always kept his doors and metal gates locked, day and night. Oops!

John exclaimed, “Well, we haven’t been locking our doors during the day when we are home.”

Our friend looked at him with a pensive glare.

John explained further, “Since we are on the third floor of our building, we figure that a bad guy has to really work to get to us or our stuff, plus we have several 24-hour alarms constantly monitoring our building. Three of our neighbors have chihuahuas!”

To which our friend replied, “Ah, I see. Never mind. You ARE protected!”

As house and pet sitters, we have been around a lot of animals. Dogs, cats, birds, horses, pigs…we’ve taken care of them all. But never in the past four years have we experienced so many chihuahuas. It seems everyone here in Colima has one. Rarely do we ever go out and not see one leashed to it’s owner or just wandering around. They are popular. So it got me to thinking that there must be a lot more to this incredible little creature than just adorable size and constant watchdog yapping.

If you’ve ever been around chihuahuas, you will totally understand and relate to everything in this story. If not, then maybe, like us, this will provide several knowledge nuggets about this tiny yapper that you didn’t know. Regardless, we hope you’ll be entertained!

The Chi Has a Past: History of the Chihuahua

Even though the Chihuahua is one of the most popular dog breeds in the world, its history is a mystery. Just because they are named after the largest state in Mexico, Chihuahua, doesn’t necessarily mean they originated there.

The state of Chihuahua borders Texas and New Mexico, and in the mid-1800s, some of the earliest archeological specimens of chihuahuas were found there.

Then in the 1880s, Mexican merchants began selling the tiny canines to tourists at the border who then brought them to the United States as pets. At first, they were called Arizona dogs, Texas dogs, Mexican dogs and Chihuahua dogs. With those choices, you can see why “Chihuahua” stuck and is used universally today.

One of the most believable theories about the origin of the Chihuahua is that it descended from the Techichi, a small companion dog domesticated by the Mayas (1800 BC to 900 AD) in Mexico. Techichi, averaging 10-20 pounds, were larger than modern-day Chihuahuas, but shared many physical characteristics. But, unlike Chihuahuas, the Techichi is believed to have only long coats and be mute. They have definitely found their “voices” through the years! When archeologists unearthed ancient burial plots around Colima, they discovered effigy pots and sculptures dating back to 300 BC with images of dogs with striking similarities to the Chihuahua. Obviously, from what we’ve seen here, the little guys never left!

Another theory is that Chihuahuas originated from Europe, specifically, the island of Malta. This small island was once home to a small dog known as the Maltese pocket dog, which shares very distinct characteristics including a “molera” which is a small opening in the skull or soft spot. Today, between 80% and 90% of all Chihuahuas are born with this cranial gap.

Another clue, to support the European theory, can be found in the Sistine Chapel. In 1482, Botticelli, an Italian Renaissance painter, created a fresco on one of the chapel’s walls entitled The Trials and Calling of Moses (see above). If you examine the painting closely you’ll see a boy holding a small dog that has an uncanny resemblance to the modern-day Chihuahua.

Of course, this could have been a Techichi, brought over from Mexico, but the painting was done ten years before Columbus discovered the Americas. Here’s Botticell’s painting zoomed in:

Now, to me, this furry guy looks like a Chihuahua. What do you think?