It is widely known that the Xoloitzcuintle Dog is an ancient Mexican dog that had an important influence on pre-Hispanic religious thought.

Mesoamerican thought implied duality as the main taxonomic element of the world. There was the matter "hot-luminous-high-alive-masculine-dry" and its opposite, the matter "cold-dark-low-feminine-dead-wet". All beings are composed of both types of matter and the predominance of one or the other determined their role in the world according to this main binary division.

In fact, one of the main abilities of the gods was the possibility of fission or fusion. In this way, a given god could be divided into different invocations of him, the invocations could be united to create greater entities or even the gods could be united to generate superior dual entities. This way. Quetzalcóatl could be transformed into the luminous Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli or the dark lord of the wind. In fact, Quetzalcóatl had an opposite twin named Xólotl. This second god was depicted as a dog and constantly complements or substitutes for Quetzalcoatl in myths. Xólotl is capable of multiple transformations. Their indissoluble relationship is clear in the iconography, since both wear a jewel in the shape of a section of a marine snail.

Quetzalcóatl is constantly related to luminous and living matter while Xólotl is related to dark and dead material. One can not exist without the other. The particle xolo can be translated as monstrous or larval. These meanings can support that symbolically, Xólotl is not alive and therefore is incomplete. On the other hand, its monstrosity seems to have a divine meaning similar to the Kantian conception of the sublime. Both the sublime and the monstrous are infinite. A monster defies natural law by definition, implying the presence of the divine. (Godoy, 2004)

The dog's ability to give birth to opposite twins is a metaphor for the myth of the duality of Xólotl and Quetzalcóatl. The name xoloitzcuintli not only refers to his direct relationship with this god, it also implies a poetic device. Thus, just as the presence of Xólotl implies the existence of Quetzalcóatl, in the mythical sphere, the name xoloitzcuintli (hairless dog) implies the existence of the itzcuintli (dog with hair), accentuating and dissipating their differences at the same time. Therefore, one way to correctly appreciate this dual and Mexican canine breed is through the acceptance of both varieties (with hair and without hair) and understanding their indissoluble relationship both in the sociocultural and biological aspects.

We are Xolos Ramirez. Xoloitzcuintle kennel located in Mexico City.