It is claimed in History that the first time the phrase ‘man’s best friend’ was used, was in 1789 by King Frederick of Prussia. “The only, absolute and best friend that a man has, in this selfish world, the only one that will not betray or deny him, is his DOG.” It is said the king made this statement in reference to his Italian Greyhound.
Dogs are social pack animals who thrive off of attention and affection, making them a prime candidate for a person’s best friend. Since dogs have been domesticated to a point where they need us to survive, and we tend to find that we need them almost as much, people and dogs have developed a symbiotic relationship since time immemorial.
There are several accounts about when the exact time the dg became a domesticated animal.
One of the accounts says that although the timing and location of dog domestication is a matter of debate, there is strong genetic evidence, however, that the first domestication events occurred somewhere in northern Eurasia between 14,000 and 29,000 years ago.
When the story comes to modern day Uganda, we find that dogs were domesticated long ago given the fact that way long before colonialism, most African societies were hunter and gather nations. All these dogs were indigenous until way long after the first Europeans set foot here with some owning what we have come to know as exotic dogs.
So who was the first Ugandan to own an exotic dog?
Ugandan history is awash with many accounts but King Daudi Chwa II of Buganda was the first Ugandan to own an exotic dog. While the dog was given to the king as a gift, it is not clear by who. While some sources say that it was the Governor of Uganda Sir Hesketh Bell, others say that it was the Christian missionaries from Europe. Which is also not clear. Thus, it is not known whether it was the Christians of the Church Missionary Society and the Mill Hill Missionaries from England or the White Fathers from France. Also, the species of the dog is not mentioned. But what is well documented is that the dog was imported into the country in 1908 and in the same year, the infant king was photographed with his dog at Mengo palace.
The king was photographed seated in his majestic chair while carrying his dog on his lap. Chwa II was the son of Kabaka Mwanga and the grandson of Kabaka Mukabya also known as Kabaka Mutesa I.