Saturday, October 23, 2010

Rhodesian Ridgebacks

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Shalom Camera-Critters friends.

Have you ever seen a Rhodesian Ridgeback?

Strangely enough, the dog is characterized by a ridge of hair along its back running in the opposite direction to the rest of its coat.

I had never even heard of a Rhodesian Ridgeback until these three lively puppies were piled on my lap by the neighbors.

The breed began in Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe).
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Wikipedia says
"The breed's history dates back to early in the 18th century, when the first European settlers found dogs domesticated by Khoi-khoi tribes with the hair on the spine turned forward. In the late 19th century, big game hunters needed a hunting dog that was tough, resistant to disease, and intelligent enough to avoid crocodiles and snakes, but brave and fast enough to face a lion. Also important was a tick-repellent smooth coat and tight paw pads to protect against thorns and rough terrain."
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Fortunately Israel no longer has lions roaming wild.
But we used to!
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You will enjoy looking at the BibleWalks.com page about the Dir Hijla/Gerassimos monastery near the Dead Sea.
There is a statue of a lion there and many icons and paintings of a lion and St. Gerassimos with the Mountains of Judea behind them.
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The legend says that the Abbot encountered a lion roaring with pain near the Jordan River. He removed a thorn from the lion's paw.
The lion was so thankful that he became tame and joined the community.
In the Greek Orthodox art he is often depicted with a donkey and a camel, his friends from the monastery.
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14 comments:

  1. Nice photos! I like the story about them as well.

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  2. I've heard of them, but never have seen any. Beautiful dogs and great photos to demonstrate the reason for their name.

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  3. Thanks for sharing this with us. A friend of mine used to have a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

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  4. I had not heard of these dogs and found your post to be very interesting.

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  5. Lovely photos and very interesting information about these dogs.

    Best wishes,
    Joseph

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  6. I've never seen a black Rhodesian Ridgeback before. I had no idea they came in any color other than tan with a reddish tint.
    They can be very nice pets, and they can be very good guard dogs, and for families they can be both, I'm told.

    Kay, Alberta

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  7. Are your ridgebacks similar to whippets? I was driving to school in the rain. A man was walking his whippet. The dog's bright green jacket caught my eye. I told my friend a dog owner that it was a whippets.

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  8. Dogs really a great companion and bestfriends.

    http://www.sheaky.com/2010/10/camera-critters-our-visitor.html

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  9. I really love dogs so these are no exception. I have heard of them before and saw them on television on a program called "Dogs 101" here.

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  10. cool post

    and GREAT pic of you and puppies :)



    Aloha from Hawaii

    Comfort Spiral

    ><}}(°>

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  11. Beautiful pictures and good information about the dogs.
    ---
    In these days, after many years, I've rediscovered the animation masterpiece "Biancaneve e i sette nani" by Disney. If you like cartoons and wish to listen to the funny "nanetti song" for a few minutes relax, click here.

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  12. I especially love the photo of you with the dogs. Those are very unusual looking dogs for sure, but they look friendly.

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  13. Lovely dogs, and even lovelier pups! We're getting a cat next week.

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