In Aubervilliers, a museum with bite

In front of an inconspicuous building in Aubervilliers, a crowd of people waits for the doors to open. This building is the Centrale Canine, which, this Thursday, May 15, is inaugurating its museum dedicated to dogs. A first in France. For the occasion, Alexandre Balzer, president of the Société Centrale Canine—the organization that coordinates the canine community in France, responsible for improving dog breeds and promoting their various roles in society—opens the ball: "For over twenty years, we have been working to preserve and collect objects about dogs and their usefulness to open this museum today. We are proud to honor dogs in the city of Aubervilliers." This new, unique venue, entirely dedicated to the history and heritage of dogs, becomes the second largest dog museum in the world, behind the one in New York.

To enter, you have to go up to the fifth floor. As you exit the elevator, a police officer and his Malinois are at the museum's entrance. They are not there to maintain order or stand guard, but rather to visit this unique, dog-friendly place in France. Their silhouettes hide one of the key pieces: the French Book of Origins (LOF). A register created in 1885 that lists the origins of purebred French dogs and their pedigrees—an official document consisting of the dog's genealogy and certifying its origins.

Beside him, a bronze statue of Marco, a griffin cannonball