Serbia breeding a defense dog to call its own

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia had the Dalmatian, Bosnia had the Tornjak, but Serbia didn't have a dog to call its own.

The Serbian defense dog being bred at the Belgrade Zoo is a blend of European wolf, Rottweiler, Neapolitan mastiff and American Staffordshire terrier. Dr. Hamadahamane Maiga, veterinarian at the zoo, looks after Gari, one of the first of his breed and the father of 30."We are eager to develop a new species for Serbia," Maiga told the magazine Colors.

(Macedonia and Slovenia don't seem to have canine mascots, either; perhaps the citizens of those countries are cat people.)

- Leah Garchik