The photo above is of a male puppy buried inside a lump of frozen ground near the Indigirka River, northeast of Yakutsk, Russia. The puppy’s full body, thick hair, muzzle, and even whiskers and eyelashes were preserved by permafrost. The near-perfectly preserved canine is an astonishing 18,000 years old and might be the oldest confirmed dog in history. However, after studying it, scientists aren’t sure whether the “amazingly well-preserved” creature is a dog or wolf – presumably because it comes from the point where dogs were domesticated.
The Russians named the animal Dogor, a Yakutian word for “friend.”
Now, below, is my rescued dog, Archie, age 2, a mutt who I believe is mostly Border Terrier. As you can see he bears a striking resemblance to Dogor. Archie is not dead, though, just walking up from nap.
We had a DNA test done on Archie, but it didn’t make any sense. I think they mixed him up with another dog.
The minute I saw the photo of the 18,000-year-old canine I knew I was looking at Archie’s distant, ancient cousin! — Chuck Woodbury
##RVT937
OMG, how funny. Thanks for making me smile. Archie doesn’t look a day over 18,000 years old!
😆 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I’ll tell him, Melissa. He’ll take that as a compliment!
Oh now, come on! What did Archie’s DNA test say?!