"I have been in many countries and there is not a Kangal anywhere. That is why the world will be at war soon. If everyone had my father’s dogs, things would already be settled. In my home . . . the wolves will come for something that is not theirs. The Kangal finishes it all and sends them away. We are herders, and we like it. The Kangal keeps us safe in our land. We cut off his ears when he is little, so the wolf cannot bite. The wolf is always killed by the time we get to the dogs. My sister, she has two sons now. The wolves came for her and were destroyed . . . now she has two sons... Sir, the Kangal is good for the world. Not just families. They are the color of sand and rock, they have the heart of those before them, the wild animals that have become our friends. It is that way with our dogs. Every- one should have a Kangal.”
An old Turkish herder in Cat Urbigkit's Brave and Loyal: An Illustrated Celebration of Livestock Guardian Dogs
4 comments:
This beautiful story was related from the always eloquent Patrick Porter.
Kangal is a very important breed , one of the many in old world that could fight back bears and wolfs.Many have lost their working abilities today like the Pyrenean the Bearnese and so many others. Unfortunately the modern world, the modern sheep herding in enclosures, and the modern view for nature have no place for dogs of this kind. They are instinctive primitive free roaming dogs that cant live in a posted world
Not for posting:
I am contacting you about using one of your Coso rock art pics...
May I reblog it to Knittingittogether.com ?
It is the pic just above you smiling.
Patricia - this isn't email, and I can't answer without publishing. The pic is Reid's and he is in Alaska, out of email range. I would suggest you write the blog again when he is back, as the software for the blog does not allow one to put in an email address.
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