If you scroll down to the video, you might remember this cringe-worthy moment when Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, presented Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, a Central Asian Shepherd Dog puppy as a present for his birthday (cringe worthy because most of us don’t tend to hold our puppies by the scruff):

Never let it be said, however, that Berdymukhamedov doesn’t have a deep affection for the breed.  Last year, he unveiled a gold-coated statue of the breed in the center of a busy traffic circle in the nation’s capital, Ashgabat. You see the statue at the top of this post, but that photo is a bit misleading.

Small, it isn’t.

No pun intended, but at 50 feet high, that puppy is huge. It towers over the street from a pedestal and honors the breed known locally as Alabai (and nicknamed Volkodav, or wolf crusher).

Neither is it subtle.  The statue sits on a huge LED pedestal on which images of the dog appears:

The dedication ceremony was broadcast on state television.

Berdymukhamedov (unofficially known as “Arkadag” or protector) didn’t stop there. Having declared the Central Asian Shepherd dog as Turkmenistan’s national heritage, he created a holiday to honor the breed: The last Sunday of April when the ex-Soviet nation also marks the day of the local horse breed. Berdymukhamedov’s son, Serdar, heads the international Alabai association and has reported to the his father that the holiday will include a beauty contest and agility competitions.

In 2019,  Berdymukhamedov dedicated a book to the breed, this an addition to the poems he’s written about the breed.

Oddly enough, we find nothing peculiar about having such pride about a national breed. As for our post title, it comes from an old description of the breed: Half Polar Bear, half Wolf, it has the movement of a cat. What’s not to love?

Images found on Pinterest and happily credited upon receipt of information