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The breed was always thought to date back at least
to the pre-Christian era, and recent discoveries by researchers studying
ancient DNA have revealed that the Afghan Hound is in fact one of
the most ancient dog breeds, dating back for many thousands of years.
Its original native name, Tazi, betrays its connection to the very
similar Tasy breed of Russia. The proximity of southern Russia and
Afghanistan argues for a common origin for both breeds.
Initially, Afghan people refused to sell their national dog to
outsiders; the breed was not seen in Europe and America until after
the turn of the 20th century. The AKC and CKC did not recognize
the Afghan Hound until the 1930s. Originally export of this dog
was prohibited and the first to arrive in England and the United
States was at the turn of the 20th century. Captain Banff imported
"Zardin" from Afghanistan around this time and he was
first shown at the Crystal Palace Kennel Club Show in 1907, making
a tremendous impact.
In 1983, Chris Terrell was the last breeder-owner-handler to win
Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, with his Afghan
Hound Ch. Kabik's The Challenger, also the last time a dog from
the Hound group has been awarded Best in Show. An Afghan Hound has
taken the top honor at just one other WKC Dog Show, in 1957.
On August 3, 2005, Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk announced that
his team of researchers had become the first team to successfully
clone a dog. The dog, an Afghan Hound, was named Snuppy. Later that
year, a pattern of lies and fraud by Hwang Woo-Suk came to light,
throwing in doubt all his claims. Snuppy, nonetheless, was a genuine
clone, and thus the first cloned dog in history.
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