Tornjak, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hello Sunday Stampers and all you regular/random followers. Another one of my favourite subjects is on the agenda today and that is canines, i.e dogs. Again pretty much a difficult decision to make on which stamps to show, but well, I decided to introduce you a breed that may not be well-known in other countries.

I wanted to start this post with this story about one of the stray dogs in my neighbourhood, but the whole thing is really saddening me so in the end I decided to go without it and just stick to the stamps.

This set of four stamps was issued by the Croatian Post of Mostar (which is one of the three postal administrations of Bosnia and Herzegovina - if you find that confusing, you are not the only one), featuring the Tornjak dog which is a mountain sheep dog native to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

Tornjaks are large and powerful dogs, with well proportioned, almost square-bodied features and agile movements. The dog's bones are not light, but nevertheless not heavy nor coarse. They have a long and thick double coat with a thick undercoat. The bodies of these dogs are strong and well built, with harmonious and dignified movements. The dogs have long and thick hair and this adequately protects them against poor weather conditions. The dogs typically possess shaggy tails, kept high like a flag. Tornjaks have a clear, self-confident, serious and calm disposition.

A typical adult Tornjak is very calm, peaceful, at first sight an indifferent animal, but when the situation demands it, it is a vigilant and very alert watchdog. The character is equal to the temperament; they are not nervous nor aggressive. In general, they are very tough, not too demanding, sturdy dogs. With their human family they are very emotional. When living in a pack they are highly social animals and there isn't any fighting between the pack members. Towards strangers or other animals, as a rule, Tornjak is not overly aggressive. But when the situation calls upon it, Tornjak is quite decisive and it can without any consideration attack even much stronger rivals. Shepherds used to say that a Tornjak who guards the flock is a fair match to two wolves, and a couple will confront and chase away a bear without any undue respect. In these situations Tornjaks are very tenacious.

For me, it is just another perfect dog for cuddling.

They can be either solid colored or parti-colored, usually the color white predominates.
The four stamps here issued in 22 February 2007, show both the brown and the black dog, and also the heads of both of these respectively.

Well Ive said this before but would like to point it out again - I love all dogs no matter their status, build, colour - but I always always prefer the stray, homeless animals that can be adopted than the ones for which one needs to pay money to have it and that are like for show off.
I used to have a rough-collie (better known as Lassie), but it was a gift :)

for more of these most humble and adorable creatures, visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps.