Okay, well I'm going to write my essay now.

THE MALTESE

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No one is really sure where the Maltese orginated from but they suspect an island off the coast of Italy called "Malta". Others, think they could be from Melita. Also people think maltese's were bred from a Spitz-type dog in Central Europe, but many say they are mixed with poodle and spaniel. Maltese's were orginally bred for hunting and were about three times larger then they are today, when they first orginated. It is thought that people bred these dogs to a smaller size and stopped using them as hunting dogs. English Crusaders returning home from Italy brought the breed to England. They became very popular in a short time, especially with women. They were dogs of royalty, and were carried around everywhere by the English women.

Malteses are decended from one of the oldest dog breeds every recorded to exist. This dog breed is now 8,000 years old. This dog was called the "Melitaie dog". Statues of maltese's were found in Egyptians tombs and also found on Greek vases. Roman pholosiphers(sp?) wrote about them also.

Okay, I really need to stop now. Sorry, this is so long but I research these dogs ALOT.