Dog Allergies

All Shih Tzu stamps may not be here.
There maybe more but I thought you might like to see and read about the Shih Tzu stamps!
Turn up the sound and enjoy!

The economy in the former Soviet Union is in very sad shape. To bolster their income, the independent Russian states have started issuing topical stamps in the hope that the world market will buy them and not require the associated postal services. Whatever the reason, we are all winners when such lovely stamps and souvenir sheets are issued. This one is from Abkhazia issued in 1998.

It was issued for the Year of the Dog in 1994 by Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean. This is one of the prettier ones. Antigua & Barbuda are a pair of sister islands in the north east Caribbean that became a nation when Great Britain "gave them their freedom." The two islands are not always at ease with each other since Barbuda contains 40% of the land but only 10% of the people and they prefer to not be developed by outsiders. In 1994, they put out two sets of stamps in honor of The Year of the Dog. There were 12 large breeds and 12 small breeds. This lovely Shih Tzu was in the set of small breeds. This is a fairly common stamp.

The break-up of the Soviet Union is a real gold mine for collectors of topical stamps. In an effort to generate hard currency, the individual states are putting out stamps that can be sold around the world without having to provide the associated mail delivery service. Whatever the reason, it is a pleasure to get such wonderful stamps for our collections. This first Russian stamp is a Shih Tzu baby from Batum.

Batum is a local Russian state just south of the Black Sea, near Turkey. It is a Black Sea oil port at the end of an oil line. In 1878 its turbulent modern history began when it was taken by Russia from Turkey. Following the fall of the Tsar, the caucasion peoples reasserted their independence and Turkey saw its chance to win back old territory. Its troops entered Batum in april 1918. From this time date letters handstamped Batumskaya Kontora during a shortage of stamps at the Post Office and thus begins Batums philatelic history.

This lovely stamp was issued by Benin in 1998. It may be noted that Benin, former Dahomey, has perhaps the "most beaten tracks by Europeans of any in Africa". The history of Benin is a succession of kingdoms, followed by years of communist rule and finally independence in 1990.

Buriatia is another local Russian state. This lovely stamp came from a set that includes a Basset Hound, a Pug, a Boston Terrier, and a Weimeraner -- quite a collection. It is not rare and should be available for some time. Some resources list it as a Lhasa Apso, so it is not always where you would expect it.

Buriatia is in southern Siberia near Lake Baykal on the Mongolian border and such the Buryat people are Buddhists as well. The collapse of the Soviet Union has created a gold mine for stamp collectors. The local governments have issued some wonderful stamps in an effort to sell them to the world market and not even have to provide the associated service of mailing letters with them.

A lovely stamp issued by Cambodia in 1999. Cambodia is located in southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. It is slightly smaller than Oklahoma. The climate is tropical, rainy, monsoon season (May to November); dry season (December to April; little seasonal temperature variation. The terrain is mostly low, flat plains; mountains in southwest and north. The natural hazards are the monsoonal rains; flooding; occasional droughts. The current issues are illegal logging activities throughout the contry and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand. Ethnic groups nsist of Khmer 90%, Vietnamese 5%, Chinese 1%, and others 4%. The languages are the official Khmer 95%, French and English. The government consists of multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy established on September 1993. The capital is Phnom Penh.

This lovely 'dilute' stamp is a fairly new issue from Central Africa. Central Africa Republic (CAR), landlocked republic in central Africa, bordered on the north by Chad, on the east by Sudan, on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and on the west by Cameroon. A former french colony, which became independent on August 31, 1960, the CAR was known as the Central African Empire from 1976 to 1979 under the autocratic rule of self-styled,emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa. The CAR has an area of 622,984 sq mi. Bangui is the Capital. French is the official language and tribal languages.

A fairly new issue from Gagauzia. Gagauzia is one of those local Russian governments that has issued topical stamps in the hopes of raising currency without offering the associated services. The idea is to have people buy the stamps as collectables rather than actually mail letters with them. This one is particularly nice and should be available for some time.

This stamp from Gambia in Africa. It comes from a most remarkable set showing the Royal Dogs owned by nobility around the world. The Shih Tzu is listed as belonging to the Emperor of China. Also from an expensive set.

OK, this one is a surprise, but wouldn't it be boring if all of the stamps for a breed looked alike? This Shih Tzu stamp from Ghana in Africa gets the prize for outrageous, but it needs to be in any full collection. It was issued by Ghana in 1997. Ghana is a nation on the western side of Africa, surrounded by the Ivory Coast, Togoland and the Upper Volta.

Shih Tzu's make such cute puppies, it is no surprise that they would be chosen for so many puppy stamps. This wonderful example is from Gibraltar issued in 1996. It is readily available, but from an expensive set. Near the southern tip of Spain a peninsula forms a finger of land that points to the coast of Africa, 14 miles (23 kilometers) away. That peninsula is Britain's crown colony of Gibraltar. It includes the famous Rock of Gibraltar, which stands at the western gateway to the Mediterranean. Since 1704 when the British captured it, Gibraltar has been a fortress. It is Great Britain's chief naval base on the route through the Suez Canal to the Far East. The peninsula is about 3 miles (5 kilometers) long and less than a mile wide. Its area is 2.25 square miles (5.8 square kilometers). The rock is mostly limestone with cliffs and sandy slopes. Its greatest height of 1,396 feet (426 meters) is reached near the southern end. The city of Gibraltar, mostly on level ground on the west of the rock, lies on the deep Bay of Gibraltar. The harbor is a port of call where ships take on fuel, stores, and water. Vast reservoirs for rainwater have been blasted out of solid rock, and artesian wells have been drilled in the rock's tunnels. The climate is Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers.

A new stamp from Ingushetia issued in 2001. Ingushetia is one of the 21 Russian republics, which are the administrative units with the greatest amount of autonomy within the Russian Federation. It was part of a joint Chechen-Ingush autonomous republic from 1936 until 1991, when Chechnya declared independence and the Ingush separated from the republic.

Another new stamp, this time from Jamaica. Jamaica is an island located in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba. It is slightly smaller than Connecticut. The climate is tropical; hot, humid. Natural hazards are hurricanes (especially July to November). The ethnic groups consist of Black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, White 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, and other 0.1%. The language is English. Many religions are practiced such as Protestant, Baptist, Anglican, Seventh-Day Adventist, Pentacostal, Methodist, United Church, Brethren, Jehovah's Witness, Moravian, Roman Catholic, Others, including spiritual cults. The capital is Kingston. They gained their independence from the United Kingdom Autust 6, 1962. The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After 5 years of recession the economy grew in 2000 and 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularily in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks has stunted the economic recovery. Jamaica is a major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe. Jamaica has a population of 2,680,029.

The economy in Russia since the break up of the Soviet Union has such high inflation that stamps that were previously issued are not of enough value to mail a letter any more, so to remedy the situation, the local Post Offices have taken blocks of five "old" printed stamps and overprinted them with a new image and a new value. The Shih Tzu shown above in the middle is one of these "Russian Overprints" from Osettia. These stamps come in a set of five different colored stamps all with the same overprint. There is no telling how many of the overprints they produced (not many), since they were never designed to be sold on the world market. They are of value only for a short while until the actual stamps can be printed. The stamp on the left was ultimately issued by Karelia and the stamp on the right issued by Karakalpalkia with the Shih Tzu image from the overprint from Osettia. You will note that the two stamps have an identical image but the presentation of them is still totally different. Karelia is on the northwest corner of Russia, bordering Finland, to which it once belonged. Karakalpakia, now under the domain of Uzbekistan, is on the edge of the shrinking Aral Sea, which has recently revealed a shocking scale of environmentally induced disease. Women and children are most severely affected from the spread of pesticides and other pollutants as the lake - once the fourth largest in the world - has turned into a desert, its waters siphoned off to irrigate vast cotton fields and rice paddies in Central Asia. Over 20 per cent of the young women, aged 13-19, have kidney disease, and another 23 per cent suffer from thyroid dysfunctions. And many women have high levels of lead, zinc and strontium in their blood. Although the Aral Sea probably has less than 10 years of life left, if nothing is done to salvage what remains of it, the 1.1 million residents of Karakalpakia are under immediate health threats. If nothing is done to improve the health of the people we may be witnessing the end of another entire society as a result of human folly.

The stamp on the left was issued in 1997. The one on the right is even newer, from 2000. The Republic of Karelia is a remarkably beautiful land of white nights, boundless forests, and blue lakes. It is located on the border of Western and Eastern Europe, on the border of cultures and religions. Severe beauty of its nature, the climate, not too favourable in these latitudes, the coexistence and intermingling of various peoples inhabiting this land for centuries all that cnditioned the character of the people living here: very laconic, self-assured, contemplative, and tolerant people. It also accounts for the fact that there is no national strife and terrorism in this land.

Both of the above stamps from Komi were issued in 2001. The Komi Republic is situated in the extreme North-East part of Russia. It is a multinational state, since the population of Komi Republic is estimated at 1.2 million citizen and consists of 100 nationalities. The Komi Republic is now a democratic legal state included into the Russian Federation. The republic has unique stocks of mineral resources thanks to their location, diversity and quality. The mineral resources of Komi Republic are represented by combustible minerals, oil and gas, metal ores, minerals and balneological resources.

Since North Korea is a country that is officially embargoed from this country, it is sometimes difficult to acquire stamps from there (and from Cuba as well). Apparently somebody brought a number of these in, since they seem to be generally available. It is easy to argue the breed on this one, but they list it as a Shih Tzu, so we will believe them.

Each year, Monaco issues a stamp to commemorate the International Kennel Club (the FCI). Our year was in 1980, when they issued this stamp in honor of the Shih Tzu, along with the Lhasa Apso. The artwork is by P. Lambert.

Two New Puppy stamps from Mordovia issued in 2000. Mordovia is located between Moscow and the Volga River and is bordered by the republic of Chuvashia on the east. Mordovia is one of the 21 Russian republics, which are the administrative units with the greatest amount of autonomy within the new Russian Federation. Mordovia is a largely agricultural region. Like most of the other republics, Mordovia has started issuing new postal stamps including these great Shih Tzu puppies.

A wonderful new stamp from Nevis. St. Kitts & Nevis are located in the northern part of the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean. Like no other islands in the Caribbean, they seem to embody a kind of lush tropical paradise usually associated with the South Pacific. The atmosphere here is luxuriant, an intoxicating blend of sunlight, sea air and fantastically abundant vegetation. On Nevis, the ground rises upward into a cloud forest filled with elusive green vervet monkeys and brilliant tropical flowers. Nevis was names after the spanish word for snow, not because there was any, but because of the white clouds that encircle the single peak of an island.

Para Timor produced this lovely body pose and headstudy in 2000. East Timor is an area of Indonesia that recently voted to become independent. There is much unrest still since the current government does not want to give up power.

Sharjah is one of the United Arab Emirates. This darling stamp was put out way back in 1968, over 30 years ago. It used to be rather common, but is increasingly hard to get. Sharjah is the third largest of the seven states, which forms the United Arab Emirates that became fully independent in 1971. From that time, it has attracted attention -- first because of its oil reserves and its strategic location but now in addition to those, because of its program of economic and social development. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the UAE has witnessed the creation of a truly modern welfare state. Education, health care and social services are available to all citizens. This darling puppy stamp was issued in 2000, the first time that Sharjah has issued dogs stamps since 1972.

A lovely new stamp, 2000, from somalia. Somalia, also called the Somali Democratic Republic, is located on the Horn of Africa, the easternmost part of the African continent. Although it gained its independence in 1960, nearly constant unrest has kept it from establishing a lasting presence in the area.

St. Vincent, in the Caribbean, also issued a set of dog stamps for the Year of the Dog in 1994. This lovely Shih Tzu headstudy is from that set. This one is generally available, but from a very expensive set. Caribs were the first inhabitants of St. Vincent. Columbus marked the presence of the island on his third voyage in 1498, but didn't go ashore. The Caribs were tenacious, keeping the European conquistadors at bay longer than on any other island. In 1787, Captain William Bligh set sail from England on the Bounty, bound for Tahiti. The purpose of the voyage, which ended in mutiny, was to collect breadfruit plants and transport them to St. Vincent for use as food for slaves. In 1793 Bligh eventually arrived in St. Vincent on another ship loaded with breadfruit seedlings. The fruit would make the island famous. To this day, bananas are the main export from the island. St. Vincent and the Grenadines achieved independence in 1979. The islands have produced many stamps over the years, including this Australian Terrier from 1998.

What a lovely stamp by Udmurtia in 2000. Udmurtia is approximately midway between Moscow to the Urals. Its land is a hilly wooden plain with numerous swamps, springs and rivers. Its climate is considered a bit too wet and not healthy. Summer is short, rainy and cool; autumn is very cloudy (often there are almost no sunny days from October till January), foggy and rainy. This not very friendly land was originally inhabited by Udmurts (or Votyaks). These peaceful and quiet Finnish people maintained their culture heritage there at least for five thousand years. Their religion is also ancient. They worship the God (called Inmar, The Highest Being) and His assistants governing various elements. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Udmurtia became one of the local republics and as such they now issue stamps including this lovely Shih Tzu.

This Shih Tzu puppy was recently issued by the Russian state of Yakutia. This image is the same as the puppy above from Mordovia. This frequently happens that a stamp image is used by several countries. I hope that these stamps will remain easily available. Most people know Yakutia from the game of Risk along with Kamchatka and Irikutz. Actually, Yakutia is the largest region in Siberia, known as Sasha-Yakutia.

Shih Tzu Souvenir Sheets

Kihnu is an island between Finland and Estonia, and it makes up an independent Kihnu commune. Its area is 16.4 km2 and it is the seventh island in Estonia by its size. The nearest point from the mainland is 12 km. Its population is 518. Kihnu issued a number of different breed stamps. The interesting thing about this minisheet is that if you look closely, you can see the head study of a Boston Terrier behind the four Shih Tzu stamps.

Madagascar Souvenir Sheet

This lovely souvenir sheet was put out by the Democratic Republic of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Africa in 1991.

The Philippines are located in southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. It is slightly larger than Arizona. The climate is tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southeast monsoon (May to Octoder). The terrain is mostly mountains with narrow to extensive costal lowlands. It is struck by five or six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanos; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis. They have two official languages - Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English. The capital is Manila. They gained their independence from the United States July 4, 1946.

Another outstanding souvenir sheet, this time from Sierra Leone in Africa. The image seems to be taken .from the same art work that was used in the Gambia stamp of Royal Dogs, but it is nice enough that we can enjoy it twice. Sierra Leone was a British colony to which freed slaves returned in the late 1700's. After Independence in 1961, a small political elite, who exclusively profited from the lucrative trade in diamonds, dominated successive governments. Little of this national income trickled down to benefit the rest of the population. After much fighting and insurrection the UN was finally convinced to send a peacekeeping force that was in the news for many months.

A delightful Souvenir Sheet from Touva. The stamp alone with out the full border of blue drawings of several breeds.(shown on right). Touva (often spelled Tuva) is a country in the southern area of Siberia. It's a unique place with the landscapes ranging from the desert to the permafrost, and local fauna-from camels to reindeers. Touva is known as almost the only place in the world where shamanism, a very ancient religion, is preserved, kept and cultivated in its original form. The republic of Touva lies at the upper reaches of the Siberian Yenisey River and forms a barrier between Russia and Mongolia. Since its independence from the former Soviet Union, Tuva continues to struggle to work on the appropriate way to safeguard and develop its own identity and sovereignty going through the difficult changes from a command-orientated planned economy towards an open market economy. Like so many other former Russian states, the diversity of the people is starting to be felt as the original culture, traditions and religion are gaining more followers.