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  • 2021-07-13 (xsd:date)
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  • Is This Photograph of a Swedish Vallhund Real? (en)
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  • In the summer of 2021, social media users enthusiastically shared a long-running meme which claimed to introduce readers to the Swedish vallhund, a breed of dog described as basically wolf-corgis. The similarity of the dog's face to that of a wolf, combined with a low body and stocky limbs, would naturally cause some observers to wonder whether the photo was the result of digital editing. Over the past decade, this particular picture has enjoyed several waves of popularity online, including in 2013. Not only is it authentic and not digitally edited, but we know the exact origins of this picture, which does indeed show a Swedish vallhund. As a result, we are issuing a rating of True. The dog shown in the photo is Misty, or Missy, who might just have been, unwittingly, the world's most famous Swedish vallhund. She was owned and raised by Cindy Kingsley, who formerly operated Osafin, a Swedish vallhund kennel in Austin, Texas. A page from the Osafin website, archived in March 2015, shows the photograph in question, along with several others of Misty, noting that she was born on May 29, 2006, and even outlining two generations of her lineage. The caption under the picture reads: This is Misty's first day in Texas after living in British Columbia where she needed this coat for the cold weather. She is now a Texas Swedish Vallhund with a lighter coat. (An archived version of the same page, from November 2007, establishes definitively that Kingsley's website was the original source of the famous photograph, years before it cropped up in internet memes). The Swedish vallhund (known as västgötaspets in Swedish) is a relatively rare breed, first recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 2007. The AKC's website describes it as follows: According to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI, a Belgium-based association of various national kennel clubs), the exact historical development of the Swedish Vallhund remains an intriguing mystery: According to the FCI, their ideal height is just over one foot at the withers (between the shoulder blades). Misty died in January 2021, at the age of 14. In a Facebook post, Kingsley wrote: She was a wonderful companion, mother and grandmother. She always brought her dish to me after meals and would check the other crates just in case there was another dish to be picked up for a small treat. Rest in peace my sweet Misty. (en)
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