Early History of the Dog 17 



Of the five sins set forth in the Avesta which caused the committer to 

 be a Peshotanu, two concerned dogs — one for giving bones that were too 

 hard or food too hot, the other for smiting a bitch big with young, or frighten- 

 ing her so that she met with an accident or died. This book of the Iranians 

 also states how puppies were to be cared for, and gives instructions as to 

 the best method of breeding to secure healthy puppies — a method, we may 

 remark, which would be most disastrous to breeding for a distinct type, as 

 it necessitated the use of three different dogs. 



The date of the Zend-Avesta is still a matter of doubt, parts of it belong- 

 ing to different ages and some undoubtedly very ancient. Originally it com- 

 prised twenty-one books, but only three complete and fragments of others 

 have been preserved. The division from which the above quotations are 

 taken is the Vendidad or Zoroastrian Pentateuch, which is divided into 

 Fargards or chapters. The one especially devoted to dogs, as shown by 

 the citations, is Fargard II, but the animal is mentioned a number of times 

 elsewhere, especially in connection with the dead. 



According to the traditional date now more generally accepted, Zoroaster 

 lived 660-583 B. c, but some writers assign an earlier date. However, 

 it is very certain that these penalties and rites were not the inauguration of a 

 new creed, but the placing on record of customs of unknown age. 



So also in the Rig- Veda, the very oldest of Aryan literature, the dog is 

 prominently mentioned. Brunnhofer made the claim that it was composed 

 prior to the migration of the Aryans southward into India, and he based 

 his argument in part on one man's having a family name which meant dog, 

 and must have betokened a "dog-revering Iranian." Professor E. W. 

 Hopkins took up the question, and from his reply, which appeared in the 

 "American Journal of Philology," Vol. XV. No. 2, we extract as follows: 



"In point of fact in the Rig- Veda we find 'Dog's Tail' as a proper 

 name, and in the Brahmanic period we learn that a good Brahman gave 

 this canine name in different forms to his three sons, while still later 

 we find 'Dog's Ear' handed down as a respectable name . . . Even 

 were the animal despised, the name, then, was not objectionable. 



"On investigating the matter we learn that in the Rig- Veda the dog is 

 the companion and ally of man; the protector and probably the inmate of 

 his house; a friend so near that he pokes his too familiar head into the dish 

 and has to be struck aside as a selfish creature. The chariot of the Maruts 

 is pictured as one drawn by dogs, but he is, at any rate, used for hunting 



