CHOW CHOW

     The chow chow is one of the oldest breeds of dog.  One of the most distinctive things about the Chow is his blue-black tongue.  One of the oldest tales of how the chow got his tongue is that when God was painting the sky, the Chow Chow followed him licking up the blue paint that he spilled.  Their tongues have been stained blue ever since.  One thing that is certain, is that the darkest tongues were prized by the Buddist monks.  These chows were raised in the temples.  So, apparently, selective breeding had begun centuries ago.