The missing link between the Korean Mastiff and south Indian Dosa

Korean Dosa Mastiff. You are an Indian, possibly from the south of Vindhyas, if only the middle name of this rare dog breed sticks out like a sore thumb. The select few that might have come across this dog name would have wondered what on earth the dog and the popular south Indian pancake might have in common.

Let’s set the record straight.

The ‘dosa’ in its name is nothing to do with diet. It signifies something more elevated than that. In Korean, ‘dosa’ and ‘tosa’ are used interchangeably to mean the same thing. It is, to be precise, the Korean word for ‘sage’, ‘guru’, ‘master’ or ‘expert’, and the word actually referred to Taoist hermits or ascetics.

Koreans have christened the heavily wrinkled, deep red dosas as ‘Mee-Kyun’, which translates into ‘beauty dog’and the fighting dosas as ‘Thoo-Kyun’. Native English-speakers incidentally are led to believe that the Dosa (loosely referring to the Mee-Kyun Dosa) must be a neo mix and the Tosa (the Thoo-Kyun Dosa) is a purebred.

The Dosa Gae is the heaviest breed among Korean dogs. It has a wrinkled and scrunched up face. This unique look apparently renders a sad or disgruntled look, which somehow makes it even more adorable. The breed can be spotted in brown, red and orange. The Dosa is a relatively new breed to Korea, tracing its origins back to as late as the 19th Century.

By the way, how rare is this species? Quite recently, two Korean Dosa Mastiff pups were bought by a Bangalore resident for Rs 1 crore.

Dosa, anyone?