The Indian Ghost Dog

The town of Rajapalayam lies at the base of the Ghat mountain ranges in south India. Some say that cotton marketing is the backbone of the town because so many mills there spin and weave high quality Indian cotton, as well as imported cottons like Pima, Giza, Australia, Ultima, and Acala.

Others say that Rajapalayam is renowned for its mangoes, and in particular, a variety of mango that many culinary experts say is the tastiest of them all, the Sappattai. It looks a little like an apple, is crunchy like raw guava, and while it tastes like a mango, it is far from tart. In fact, the Sappattai is described as tasting like palm jaggery, a non-spun cane sugar consumed on the Indian continent.

We write about Rajapalayam, however, for a different reason.

The Bouvier des Flandres, Lhasa Apso, Boston Terrier, Dogue de Bordeaux, Great Pyrenees…..these are a few of the dog breeds named for their place of origin, but the Indian sighthound known as the Rajapalayam is probably the least well known of breeds so named.

Rajapalayam,sighthound, Polygar Hound,Indian Ghost Dog,Shikkar Hound

The Rajapalayam is an ancient breed developed to hunt wild boar; Also known as the Polygar Hound, the breed is historically considered to be the Royal Dog of India because for much of its history, ownership was confined to the royal families. Bred in the Nayak dynasty of Tamil Nadu by the Chola dynasty, Rajapalayams not only hunted for royalty, but guarded them. Rajapalayams are described as “one-person-dogs” (legend has it that four dogs once fought a tiger to save their owner’s life), but if taught from a young age, they can be devoted family dogs. They are headstrong, very courageous, and have very strong hunting instincts, and as such, probably shouldn’t be trusted with small pets unless raised otherwise.

In 2005, the Government of India’s postal department issued four commemorative stamps for four of its native dog breeds, and the Rajapalayam was one of them (the others were the Himalayan Sheepdog, the Rampur Hound, and the Mudhol Hound). The stamp helped raise awareness that the Rajapalayam is going extinct, if not already past the threshold of survival. There have been efforts to encourage the breed, and in one such attempt, the Animal Husbandry Department of the Tamil Nadu government has sponsored dog shows and even set up breeding centers in the state in order to prevent the total extinction of this breed. One hopes it’s not too late because according to Quartz India.com, native Indian breeds have been dying out, in part because of demand for western dog breeds which, observers say, has led to the the over-breeding of foreign dogs, but the under-breeding of Indian breeds.

Our post title comes from the fact that Rajapalayams are typically milk-white with a pink nose, and for that reason, the breed’s nickname is the Indian Ghost Dog.

The Indian Ghost Dog

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