Sometimes it is the oddest things that get my attention on the Internet. From an Internet listing of now extinct breeds of dog, I learned that apparently there was a breed in England in the 1800s called the Turnspit Dog.
The Turnspit Dog was a short-legged, long-bodied dog bred to run on a wheel, called a turnspit or dog wheel, to turn meat so that it would cook evenly over the kitchen fire. That must have been a dreadfully boring job!
The dogs were also taken to church to serve as foot warmers. During a worship service at a church in Bath, the Bishop of Gloucester gave a sermon and uttered the line “It was then that Ezekiel saw the wheel.” At the mention of the word “wheel” every foot-warming turnspit dog raised up and ran for freedom! Read more…