RIO DE JANEIRO — The caramel-colored dogs that roam Brazil in their millions may seem like unlikely national heroes. Among Brazilians, however, they inspire as much pride as football and samba.
Known simply as “caramelos” because of their yellowish coat, street dogs are celebrated in Brazilian memes, printed on t-shirts, mentioned in viral songs and honored on Carnival floats. They even starred in a Netflix film last year and almost appeared on Brazilian currency.
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But now authorities in Mexico, another Latin American country where uncontrolled breeding among stray dogs has also resulted in a huge population of tan dogs, have classified the caramel mutt as a Mexican treasure, declaring it a native breed, just like the Chihuahua.
In Brazil, the classification made headlines recently and angered Brazilians who say a national icon is being taken from them.
“How can they say that caramel is not Brazilian?” asked Luciana Valle, 57, owner of Madá, a lively caramel-colored rescue dog. “He is the face of Brazil.”
The dogs are a mix of almost 300 breeds from Europe, Asia and the Americas, a genetic study published last year showed. Experts say that the ancestry of mongrels can be traced back to dogs brought by Portuguese colonizers and, later, by immigrants from Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan.
When industrialization brought rural workers to Brazilian cities, they brought with them dogs that herded flocks or protected farms. These breeds eventually became mixed with smaller varieties kept as pets by urban residents.
This uncontrolled breeding ended up producing today’s caramel mutts, said Jaqueline Oliveira Rosa, a geneticist at DNA Pets, a Brazilian genetic testing laboratory, who led the study. “The history of caramel is the history of Brazil,” she said.
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Caramel mutts can be seen all over Brazil and are often fed and cared for by residents, becoming, in practice, neighborhood dogs.
According to experts, their short, yellowish coat attracts fewer parasites, helps keep them cool by reflecting the tropical sun and serves as camouflage against predators. The genetic mix also protects them from some hereditary diseases, Rosa said. “This makes them incredibly resilient.”
Previously rejected and mistreated, these dogs today represent Brazilians’ own miscegenation and ability to adapt. Therefore, when the environmental prosecutor’s office of the State of Mexico, the most populous in the country, declared the “perro caramelo” a Mexican breed in April, many Brazilians felt affected.
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The state agency declined an interview request. In its statement, however, it stated that the classification aimed to combat the stigma surrounding strays.
Animal welfare advocates in Mexico say caramel dogs are as common there as they are in Brazil, due to the two countries’ shared history and climate.
The Mexican recognition of the caramel dog was likely inspired by the Brazilian movement to value these mutts, said Claudia Edwards, director of the Mexican program at the nonprofit Humane World for Animals.
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“Brazil was the first to recognize it, to put it on the map,” said Edwards. “Brazilians should be very proud of this.”
She added that the caramel mutt doesn’t have to belong to just one nation. “He’s Latin American!”
In 2023, Brazilian parliamentarians presented a bill to grant the caramel dog the status of national heritage, but the proposal did not advance. Since then, some states, including São Paulo, have passed their own laws declaring it a cultural treasure.
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On a Sunday morning, the striking presence of the caramel dog is evident in Rio de Janeiro.
In a wooded dog park, half a dozen honey-colored mutts ran and played. Tiana, a lively two-year-old rescue dog with pointy ears, nibbled on a twig.
“She is the star of the house,” said Mônica Veiga, 63, a textbook reviewer. “We always wanted to adopt a caramel mutt.”
On a boardwalk, Marco Yoshizawa fed his eight-year-old stray Zico the pulp of a recently opened coconut. “He’s a real companion,” said Yoshizawa, 55, who collects cans. “Go everywhere with me.”
But, even though they have become national mascots, many caramel mutts remain in shelters, said Juliana Camargo, founder of Ampara, the largest Brazilian animal protection organization. “They are not the first to be chosen for adoption yet,” he said.
There are more than 20 million abandoned dogs in Brazil, according to a global study carried out by a coalition of animal welfare organizations. Camargo estimates that more than 90% of them are caramels.
At a recent adoption fair, children were enchanted by a trio of black puppies that slightly resembled Labradors. A family petted one of them while filling out adoption paperwork.
Few paid attention to the caramel dogs who were also looking for a home. Guadalupe, a light brown stray rescued from a community of the same name, panted anxiously in the shade as a volunteer tried to calm her.
“We have been looking for someone to adopt her for a year,” said volunteer Désirée Rebello, 39. “It’s not that easy.”
For Camargo, the hope is that highlighting caramel mutts, both in Brazil and Mexico, will convince more people to take one of them home.
“It’s a little uncomfortable, because we feel like the caramel is ours,” she said. “But it’s for a good cause.”
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