H eadlines
Canaan Dog Owners Preserve Ancient Breed
L OCA L
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
IN THE 2000 FILM “Best
in Show,” five dogs and their
eccentric owners compete in
the fictional Mayflower Kennel
Club Dog Show at Beyman
Center in Philadelphia. The
pairs of entrants run the
gamut of personalities: campy
to yuppie, daft to intense. And
each of their respective dogs is
equally as high maintenance
and colorful.

Though intended as a light-
hearted film, “Best in Show” is
less satire and more imitation.

“It’s not a comedy; it’s a
documentary,” David Golden
said. Like “Best in Show” stars
Eugene Levy and Christopher
Guest, Golden was a Jew
looking for his pooch to win
Best in Show, though not at the
Mayflower Kennel Club Dog
Show, but at the National Dog
Show from the Kennel Club
of Philadelphia at the Greater
Philadelphia Expo Center at
Oaks, which took place Nov.

20 and 21.

Just like their owner,
Golden’s canines share a Jewish
background, originating in
Israel centuries ago.

Golden is a member of the
Canaan Dog Club of America,
champions of the Canaan
Dog, an ancient breed first
seen in 9,000-year-old wall
carvings in Ashkelon, Israel,
depicted wearing leashes held
by hunters.

In past centuries, Canaan
Dogs guarded livestock in
Bedouin villages, and some
dogs were domesticated. In the
1930s, a group of dog trainers
immigrated to what became
Israel, looking to domesticate a
breed to serve general military
purposes in the prototype for
the Israel Defense Forces.

With large, low-set ears and
a lithe, white body speckled
black or tan, the Canaan Dog fit
the bill of a devoted protector
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM David Golden showing Canaan Dog Anni at the Kennel Club of
Philadelphia National Dog Show
that could easily camouflage in
its desert environment.

In the 1960s, Austrian
dog experts Rudolph and
Rudolphina Menzel brought
the Canaan Dog to the United
States, where they were
redomesticated. However, they
remain similar to the likeness
of their ancestors.

Golden, who has traveled
across the world and took a
liking to the naturally evolved
dogs, has owned Canaan Dogs
for almost 30 years, becoming
more and more interested in
showing them nationwide.

He is no exception to the
host of distinctive dog owners
at the National Dog Show,
donning a full suit and paisley
tie for the weekend competi-
tion, complete with a cooked
and seasoned chicken breast
hidden in his jacket pocket,
which he discreetly fed bites of
to his dogs Avi and Anni.

Avi has competed at dog
shows for six of his seven years
of life, winning Best in Breed
at the National Dog Show five
years running. As reported
in a 2017 Jewish Exponent
article, Avi not only won Best
in Breed that year but came in
third among the competition’s
herding dogs.

The breed competition on
Nov. 20 was a family affair.

Along with Avi and his sister
Anni, two other Canaan Dogs
competed at the show: Anni’s
two offspring, both of whom
have different owners.

Having only four dogs in
the ring for the Best of Breed
competition is uncommon. Of
the 195 breeds the American
Kennel Club recognizes, the
Canaan Dog is the 184th
most popular, losing out to
dogs such as the Australian
Shepherd, which have been
more recently developed,
rather than naturally evolved.

But the dogs have a small,
yet loyal following.

Thomas Cassel
of Collingswood, New Jersey,
rescued two Canaan Dogs this
year after a breeder passed
away. He hopes to start showing
his dogs when they get older
after learning more about the
showing process from Golden.

“I didn’t just rescue a dog;
I joined the community,”
Cassel said.

Besides Cassel’s interest in
the breed’s appearance, his
Jewish identity factored into
his connection with Canaan
Dogs. “I started reading up on the
history, and it’s just an amazing
history,” he said.

Jews do have a slightly
disproportionate interest in
the breed, Golden said. Before
coming to Philadelphia,
Golden was in Tucson, Arizona,
attending the annual national
show for Canaan Dogs. Of the
20 Canaan Dogs in attendance,
JEWISH EXPONENT
unique — L’dor v’dor.

“This is it,” Golden said. “All
the dogs in here are special, but
this is it.”
On the morning of Nov.

20 during the Best in Breed
judging, Avi and Anni lost out to
Anni’s seven-month offspring
Estee. Standing next to Avi on
the grooming table after the
judging, Golden stroked Avi’s
long ears down to his neck,
kissing the canine’s brow.

“I’m disappointed,” Golden
said of Avi’s broken winning
Canaan Dog Avi was awarded
streak. Best in Breed for five consecutive
Still, Golden doesn’t count
years, but lost this year to his niece
Estee. Photos by Sasha Rogelberg himself or his Canaan losers.

After all, his dog bred the
about a quarter of their owners competition’s winner, the next
generation of Canaan Dogs to
were Jewish.

And in true Jewish fashion, compete: “It’s a bit of a passing
Golden, who attends about 100 of the torch.” l
shows each year, is adamant
about the preservation of srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
the breed and what makes it 215-832-0741
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NOVEMBER 25, 2021
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