Did you know ??
The Maltese was known as "Ye Ancient Dogge of
Malta", which for more than 28 centuries has been an aristocrat of the canine
world.
At the time of the Apostle Paul, Publius, the
Roman governor of Malta, had a Maltese named Issa of which he was very fond;
in this connection, the poet Marcus Valerius Martialis (Martial) made this
attachment famous in one of his celebrated epigrams.
The Greeks erected tombs to their Maltese.
A fine model of the Maltese was unearthed in
the Fayum in Egypt, making it not unlikely that this breed was the kind of dog
worshipped by the Egyptians.
The first Maltese exhibited in the US was
white and listed as a Maltese Lion Dog at WKC's first dog show in 1877.
The AKC accepted the Maltese for registration in 1888