It’s not often we have seals featuring la pooch.
The overwhelming majority of canines on seals are big lumbering lurching hunting dogs or super speedy greyhound type pedigrees.

Whelp. Not this guy, he’s a waggy pet bowser.
Or at least he certainly looks like one to me.

I’m no Barbara Woodhouse but I’m thinking this good boi closely resembles a Shih Tzu.

Shih Tzus are largely associated with Buddhism. The name “Shih Tzu” in Mandarin directly translates to “little lion,” an animal considered sacred in Buddhist religion. Lions symbolize royalty, strength, and bravery – fear nothing, and act without delay.

The Shih Tzu was originally bred in Tibet to resemble lions, which were highly revered in Buddhist culture and throughout mythology. It was theorized the Tibetans may have bred them to warn of approaching visitors but by the time they made it into China, they were bred specifically as companion dogs.

The dogs were favorites of the Chinese royals during the Ming Dynasty and were so prized that, for years, the Chinese refused to sell, trade, or give any away.

Shih Tzu arrived in the UK in the 1920’s and was nicknamed the “chrysanthemum dog”.

During the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949, all Shih Tzus were killed off due to their association with wealth and as a direct result the breed teetered perilously on the brink of extinction for a while with just 13 of the beasties remaining at one point.