Ashgabat, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan’s authoritarian ruler has recognized a national dog breed with a state holiday, government media reported Friday, elevating the canine to the same status as the gas-rich country’s beloved horses.
The alabai shepherd dog has inspired presidential poetry and an ostentatious gold statue under the leadership of strongman Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a puppy for his 65th birthday in 2017.
Now, thanks to Berdymukhamedov’s decree, the dog will share a holiday on the last Sunday of April with the Akhal-Teke horse, an animal long heralded by state propaganda.
The holiday will “increase the world fame of the …
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