Were you able to name the breed we showed you in the thumbnail sketch? This beauty is a Chippiparai (also called the Tamil Greyhound), a sighthound native to Southern India. Most common in the state of Tamil Nadu, these dogs are also found in lesser numbers in neighboring states. The breed is known for its hardiness, gentle disposition, minimal feeding requirements, and its wicked fast speed which it used to hunt deer, hare and wild boar. Bred by royal families in Chippiparai near Madurai district Tamil Nadu, it was kept as a symbol of royalty and dignity by Tirunelveli and Madurai rulers.
The Chippiparai is very rare, and not surprisingly, it’s in imminent danger of extinction.It’s probably closely related to India’s other sighthound breeds, but the exact relationship between these breeds isn’t clear. The greater mystery about this breed is its age. That it’s old is a given, but it could have been developed anywhere from several hundred to several thousand years ago.
This photo of a female Chippiparai was taken by Richie2089 who made it available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain
Both images are from Wikicommons and are in the public domain