Their name, Xoloitzcuintli, comes from the Nahuatl words “Xolotl,” the Aztec god of fire and lightning, and “itzcuintli,” meaning dog. In Aztec culture, the Xoloitzcuintli was more than ...

Legend has it that their namesake — the Aztec god of fire and lightning, Xolotl — disguised himself as a salamander to avoid sacrifice. The axolotl is so culturally revered in Mexico that the ...