Meet the Carolina Dog ‘America’s First Dog’
The Carolina Dog, accepted by the American Kennel Club (AKC) as a Foundation Stock Service Breed (FSS), is a primitive breed and is likely the first dog that crossed the Bering Land Bridge into North America from Asia.
P araphrased from the Carolina Dog Breed Standard: Several lines of evidence confirm that when the first humans crossed the Bering Land Bridge into North America from Asia, they were accompanied by primitive dogs resulting from the beginnings of the original domes- tication of Middle Eastern wolves. It is thought that these dogs moved quickly with their human companions across to the North American continent and then through the western part of North America, Mexico, Central America, and eventually, into the Eastern United States. Skeletal remains, cave paintings, and mummified bodies of these dogs have been found along with human artifacts. Archeological investigations have docu- mented ceremonial burials of these dogs, suggesting that they were valued com- panions of Native Americans long before the arrival of Europeans. In the 1970s, Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, a scientist and ecologist with the Univer- sity of Georgia, working in South Carolina, saw and trapped free-ranging dogs in natural habitats of the Southeastern United States, and began to call them “Carolina Dogs.” WHY THE NAME ‘CAROLINA DOG?’ When the early explorers were coming to America, almost the entire Eastern Seaboard was called “Carolina.” As they discovered new species of animals and plants, they named them after the location of the discovery, such as the “Caro- lina Wren.” Thus, Dr. Brisbin’s reason to call the breed the Carolina Dog, and not just because he found them in South Carolina. The breed can be found across the United States. Dr. Brisbin hypothesized that these dogs could be descendants of the canines that originally crossed the Bering Land Bridge. Some studies support this hypothesis, though additional ancestry and genetic studies are still needed. These free-ranging dogs had the general appearance of most Middle Eastern pariah dogs, and “dingos.” Both their behavior and general ecology were con- sistent with derivation from such free-ranging dogs. Pariah dogs, also known as village dogs, exist all over the world, living on the fringe of human civilization. They commonly have upright ears, pointed snouts, lean bodies, and fish-hook tails. Their characteristics are those that confer survival advantages under free- ranging conditions in areas of tall grasslands, bottomland swamps, deserts, and forest habitats of the Southern United States.
BY D. B. BRISBIN CAROLINA DOG FANCIERS (THE PARENT CLUB FOR THE CAROLINA DOG)
“In the 1970s, Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, a scientist and ecologist with the University of Georgia, working in South Carolina, saw and trapped free-ranging dogs in natural habitats
of the Southeastern United States, and began to call them ‘Carolina Dogs.’”
268 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2022
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