The central Asian republic has created a national holiday to celebrate the alabai breed.Sounds like just the sort of distraction our floundering PM might welcomeTurkmenistan may be a bleak dictatorship with a dreadful human rights record, but it certainly knows how to appreciate dogs.
On Sunday, the former Soviet republic celebrated a new national holiday dedicated to its native breed, the alabai.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a dentist turned despot who likes to relax by DJing and rapping, has already written a 272-page book about the alabai, AKA the central Asian shepherd dog, and erected a gold statue of one in the country’s capital.Look, even an objectionable megalomaniac can have a good idea now and again.
There ought to be more national holidays devoted to dogs.Perhaps the UK could kick things off by replacing bank holidays with border collie days.No one likes banks; everyone likes border collies: it’s a no-brainer.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...