After over a century in storage at the Smithsonian Institution, the only surviving pelt of the once-abundant woolly dog is being brought back to the region from which it originated.
Woolly dogs were specially bred by Salish and Makah peoples for their soft, woolly hair, which was woven into blankets, robes and clothing. They have been extinct since the end of the 1800s. Now, the only known pelt in existence is coming the closest it has been to home since it was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in 1859. The pelt will be on loan from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History to the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC from September 2026 to August 2027.
