Puppy Love!

For the last three years I have been researching a breed of dog called Coton De Tulear. This weekend I finally got my chance to adopt one! His name is Job and he's a tri-color Coton. His lineage is traceable back to Madagascar and his father, Ditto, came from Alika Cotons (founded by Dr. Russel, who first introduced the breed to the U.S. in 1974). This breed is exceptionally good with both children and cats. It is also non shedding and allergy free.

But a warning: When I was looking for a Coton to adopt, I ran into several that were listed as Cotons but when asking where the dogs came from it turned out they were from a kennels in Russia! This meant that the dog could have been intermixed with other breeds, over bred, crossbred, inbred, not to mention the horrible conditions the parents were most likely forced to live in. They may have also came with a myriad of behavioral, genetic and health problems. CTCA has a strict code of ethics that it enforces. They also rescue and place Cotons which I highly recommend!

Job is considered a tricolor Tall Malagasy Coton De Tulear, which is a genetic variation that appears rarely. He has these wonderfully long legs as you can see in his pictures! Tall doesn't mean big, it just means tall. I love that the CTCA is protecting the diversity of the breed, rather than trying to breed the dog down to small, yappy, all white dogs. They are actually equally protective of all three varieties (white, black and white, and tri-color) as well as the tall variation of the breed. In fact the biologist that introduced the breed to the U.S. has placed 26 of these tall Cotons into homes across the U.S. in the last 30 years!

If you are interested in this breed please, please, please do your research. Cotons are starting to appear with increased frequency in puppy mills and pet stores. Cotons produced in puppy mills and sold in pet stores are forced to endure horrible living conditions! Their well being and genetic integrity is not respected nor protected. You can also rescue a Coton through UCARE!