The Coast Salish are the Native people of Western Washington State and SW British Columbia. For 5 000 years, they have bred and raised a unique species of dog named the Salish Wool Dog or Comox Dog. The long and thick white wool-like fur of the dog was sheared and used to make textiles. It went extinct around 1900.

To keep the breed pure, these dogs were separated from other dogs and lived with people, or confined on small, isolated islands. They were fed fish and elk tallow to keep the fur in great shape. They did not bark.

The unusual warp in this blanket is made from a combination of string, bark and sinew. the weave is dog wool.

According to the Burke Museum,” It is a plain weave (or tabby weave) blanket—meaning that a single weft thread was woven over and under the warp threads without crossing”.