Two thousand years ago, if a Pekingese wasn’t in the sleeve of a Chinese royal (earning the breed the nickname: “Sleeve Dog”),  he gripped the hem of a royal’s robe in his mouth as they walked about the Chinese Imperial Court. Some Pekes had also been taught to announce the emperor’s arrival with a bark.  They were only seen with a member of royalty, and needless to say, only royalty could own one. It wasn’t all work. As living symbols of Buddha, the dogs were treated like royalty: Royal Pekes got perfumed baths and had their own personal assistants; shark fins, quail breasts, spring-bud tea and antelope milk were doggie noshes. Yum.

During the T’ang dynasty when the breed reached its apogee, the penalty for stealing or harming a Peke from the palace was “death by a thousand cuts.”  There was little risk that a Pekingese would bolt on its own. It’s said that the breed was bred to have bowed legs making it difficult to stray from the palace with any kind of speed.

“Pekingese – Worded Art” by Marlene Watson is available as a print here