Fanciers and dog historians know all too well that historically, some breeds of dog were never sold, only gifted. The practice is typically associated with China or Tibet, and with sacred temple dogs such as the Lhasa Apso.

But right here in the American south, there was a time when another breed was generally never sold, and that was the Catahoula Leopard Dog. The reason for this was biblical. Back in the day, Catahoula puppies weren’t exchanged for money because of a verse in the Bible coming from Deuteronomy 23:18 (the fifth book of the the Christian Old Testament, and the fifth book of the Jewish Torah) which states, “Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”

This shouldn’t be all that surprising. The breed was named after the Catahoula Lake in Louisiana, as was Catahoula Parish, and in Louisiana, 62.0% of citizens are religious,  57% of the state’s population referring to themselves as members of one of the state’s numerous Protestant denominations.

As we see it, and religion aside, whatever the reason for not selling a dog, only gifting it, speaks to the specialness of a breed.

Image: Catahoula Leopard Dog/Depositphotos