Daisy Dog : Doglike Entity of Cornwall, England.
Etymology:
From the cross-shaped plot of daisies on the dog’s grave.
Physical description:
Size of a cat. Laughing face. Pug-nose. Feat hery ears. Plumed tail draped over on its back.
Behaviour:
Its bite is said to be fatal.
Distribution:
Cornwall.
Significant sighting:
Much feared by Cornish fishermen in the nineteenth century and perhaps earlier.
Possible explanation:
Said to be the ghosts of Pekinese dogs that were sent by the Chinese emperor to Queen Elizabeth the I in the late sixteenth century. The dog’s keeper, a Chinese princess, was killed by mutinous sailors, and the dogs were thrown overboard. The bodies were later found and buried. No record of this event exists outside of folklore. However, the similarity of the Daisy dog to the real Pekinese (a breed that did not officially reach England until October 1860) is remarkable.
Sources:
- Ruth L. Tongue, Forgotten Folk Tales of the English Counties (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970);
- Karl Shuker, Extraordinary Animals Worldwide (London: Robert Hale, 1991), pp. 49–53.
SEE ALSO:
SOURCE:
Mysterious Creatures – A Guide to Cryptozoology written by George M. Eberhart – Copyright © 2002 by George M. Eberhart