Dog Burials: Divine Escorts to the Afterlife?

Buried Dogs Were Divine "Escorts" for Ancient Americans
Anne Casselmanfor National Geographic News
April 23, 2008
"Hundreds of prehistoric dogs found buried throughout the southwestern United States show that canines played a key role in the spiritual beliefs of ancient Americans, new research suggests. . ."

Read full story:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080423-dog-burials.html

Dody Fugate has created a database of over 700 dog burials, many of them in the American Southwest and indicates a preponderance of burials during the period between 400 BC and AD 1100. Dog burials are a phenomenon found throughout the world, and recent research is focusing questions of religious significance to help determine why dogs were buried in a ritual manner, often with people.
--aggie castronuevo johann

Iraqi shoe-thrower captures Mideast rage at Bush"

"By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent - Analysis
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The hurling of shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush on his farewell visit to Iraq strikes many in the Middle East as a fittingly furious comment on what they see as his calamitous legacy in the region.
Arab and Iranian TV stations have gleefully replayed the clip, sometimes in slow motion, of an Iraqi reporter calling Bush a "dog" and throwing his shoes at him -- the Middle East's tastiest insults -- at a Baghdad news conference on Sunday." http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4BE39O20081215

See video: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=95468&newsChannel=newsOne

In Middle East culture, it is an extreme insult to show someone the bottom of one's shoe. This incident may come off as humorous to those in the West, but the ramification of its significance will reverberate throughout the Middle East for some time to come.--aggie castronuevo johann