The sample chapter of my alpaca book had to be with the publisher today and I just made the deadline ...so now comes the waiting game to see if it gets accepted....never having written anything before makes the whole process just a little nerve wracking....

Meanwhile in darkest Peru....Archaeologists have uncovered the mummified remains of more than 40 dogs buried with blankets and food alongside their human masters.
The discovery was made during the excavation of two of the ancient Chiribaya people who lived in southern Peru between AD 900 and AD 1350.
Experts say the dogs' treatment in death indicated the belief that the animals had an afterlife.




Such a status for pets has only previously been seen in ancient Egypt.

The dogs, which have been called Chiribaya shepherds for their llama-herding abilities, were not sacrificed as in other ancient cultures, but buried with blankets and food in human cemeteries.

The Chiribaya dog looked rather like a small golden retriever with a medium-sized snout, beige colouring, and long hair.

The only other indigenous Peruvian canine is the hairless dog, which evolved over more than 2,000 years ago from Asian ancestors brought across the Bering Straits.




Adrian Stewart