For tens of thousands of years, humans have seen dogs as guardians, hunters, and companions. Coast Salish peoples—Salish-speaking Indigenous groups in Washington state and British Columbia—bred packs of fluffy white dogs with curly tails and pointed ears as part of the family, but with another purpose in mind. “Woolly dogs” looked a bit like modern spitz breeds such as Samoyeds, American Eskimo dogs, or Shiba Inus, with long, mountain goat–like hair. They were bred and kept for grooming or shearing, and their coats then made into a variety of textiles,…
