- Sakhalin Husky
Infobox Dogbreed
image_caption =
name = Sakhalin Husky
altname = Karafuto-Ken
country =Japan
notrecognized = no standards available
note = Not recognizedThe Sakhalin Husky, also known as the nihongo|Karafuto-Ken|樺太犬, is a breed of
dog used as asled dog .Appearance
This breed is a
spitz type, related to theJapanese Spitz andAkita Inu . The size varies between 56 cm and 66 cm at thewithers with a weight range from 30 kg to 40 kg.The ears are small, pointed, sometimes slightly tilted forwards or sometimes falling.This breed comes in many colours, including but not limited to russet-red and black. The hair is fine and thick, with an
undercoat of very dense hair, similar to the hair of theGreenland Dog .History
Karafuto-ken breaks down as
Karafuto , the Japanese name forSakhalin and Ken means dog; hence, this provides the breed's geographical origin. This breed is used rarely now; therefore, few breeders remain in Japan.Antarctic expedition
This breed's claim to fame came from the ill-fated 1958 Japanese research expedition to
Antarctica , which made an emergency evacuation and was forced to leave behind 15 sled dogs. The researchers believed that a relief team would arrive within a few days, so they left the dogs chained up outside with a small supply of food; however, the weather turned bad and the team never made it to the outpost.Incredibly, nearly one year later, a new expedition arrived and discovered that two of the dogs, "Taro" and "Jiro", had survived and they became instant heroes. Taro returned to
Sapporo, Japan and lived atHokkaido University until his death in 1970, after which he was stuffed [http://img86.imageshack.us/my.php?] and put on display at the university's museum. Jiro died in Antarctica in 1960 of natural causes and the remains are located at the
National Science Museum of Japan inUeno Park .The breed spiked in popularity upon the release of the 1983 film,
Nankyoku Monogatari , about Taro and Jiro. A second 2006 film,Eight Below , provided a fictional version of the occurrence, but did not reference the breed. Instead, the film features only eight dogs: twoAlaskan Malamute s and six Siberian Huskies.External links
* [http://www.dogfacts.org/Sakhalin-Husky-dog-pictures.htm Sakhalin Husky Dog Photos]
* [http://ontherockscomics.com/pics/taro-jiro-stamp.pngTaro and Jiro stamp ]
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