In honor of National Mutt Day, also known as National Poi Dog Day in Hawaiʻi, KHON2.com sat down with Brandy Shimabukuro, Communications Director for the Hawaiian Humane Society.

Hawaiian Poi Dog Like the kurī, the Hawaiian poi dog is thought to be of Polynesian origin. Poi dogs were fed a mushy vegetarian diet, and their “heads became large and flat due to the disuse ...

The Hawaiian Poi Dog (Credit:Iryna Zaichenko Dneprstok/Shutterstock) Polynesian settlers brought these small pariah dogs to Hawaii more than 1,000 years ago. Believed to be a protector of children, a ...

The Hawaiian poi dog had such a soft jaw from its mushy diet that it wasn't much good at biting anything. Over time, interbreeding and shifting customs meant the breed faded away. Black and Tan ...

A sketch showing a Hawaiian Poi dog (Wikimedia Commons) The vegetarian Poi dogs were brought to Hawaii with Polynesian settlers between 300 and 800AD - and were used as companions for young children.

With your childhood in Hawaii, you surely know what a poi dog is. Get a poi dog. (Note to mainland readers: If you’re a haole, you may not know that a poi dog is a mixed breed—that is, ...

In honor of National Mutt Day, also known as National Poi Dog Day in Hawaiʻi, KHON2.com sat down with Brandy Shimabukuro, Communications Director for the Hawaiian Humane Society.