The Bioanthropology Foundation of Peru discovered an ancient culture that loved dogs so much they buried them in special dog cemeteries when they died. They didn't just drop them in holes in the ground, either. The animals were buried with warm blankets and occasional treats to keep their tails wagging in dog heaven.

The animal cemetery plots were located alongside human mummy tombs of the Chiribaya people in Osmore River valley south east of Lima. The Chiribaya were known to be farming people who lived between 900 to 1350 AD before the rise of the Incan empire

“They are dogs that were thanked and recognised for their social and familial contribution...not sacrificed,” according to the researchers. “In all the cemeteries...in between the human tombs there are others dedicated to the dogs, full-grown and puppies.”

While the dog-loving Chiribaya people have long vanished, a dog called the Chiribaya shepherds with very similar features to the mummified canine are still around. The shepherds are recognized for doing what their ancestors probably did back then: herding livestock.

The team who has discovered 82 dog tombs since 1993 is also trying to prove Chiribaya shepherds can be classified as an original South American breed.

A breed is a group of dogs with very similar if not nearly identical physical characteristics and behavior because they come from a select set of ancestors with the same characteristics. Before the Chiribaya shepherds can be recognized as a breed, it must be proven that a mating pair always produces dogs that have the same characteristics as the parents.