"The king of Albanians had offered to Alexander the Great a pair of dogs.”
(texts translated in english by: Tsagaraki Athanasia
Greek Public School English teacher Graduate of the English Department of the Aristotle University -Thessaloniki)

The following letter was sent to us by the editor of the magazine“Vlemma”. It concerns - as it is proven thoroughly and  in detail, - the distortion of historical elements by certain cunning individuals who have accomplished to eventually create the false and dangerous opinion concerning the origin of the Molossian dog, but also the origin of Alexander the Great and our History. This false idea reached our website, having been based on a false transcription of Pliny, which was found in the article of the archaeologist Mr. Marinatos. However, the truth cannot- and should not be manipulated, so, thankfully, there are people who acknowledge it and here we happily publish all evidence; in this way, historical truth is restored, reflecting reality in the best possible way. We thank Mr. Kosmopoulos in advance and we hope to have his further scientific contribution concerning this matter.    
Dear Mr. Geneiatakis 
Based on what I read in your website, regarding the opinions of archaelogist Mr. Marinatos that concern the Greek sheep dog or “Molossian” dog, I am stating my own comments.
In your webpage - THE FAMOUS CRETAN DOGS OF ANCIENT TIMES - an incident is reported according to which, King Pyrros, after the battle in the River Indus, gave to Alexander, who was the winner of the battle, two “Albanian” dogs, of which the one was killed by him because it hesitated to attack when ordered, and the other was kept because it overpowered a lion and an elephant!!!
This opinion I have quite often read in foreign texts, but unfortunately in Greek texts as well. The incident is attributed to the ancient Roman writer Pliny (70A.D.), who, however, is not considered by the global historical community as reliable because the sources on which he based his positions are as a rule fabrications or popular opinions of his era, while he himself, lived at least 300 years after Alexander, so, he and his sources are codified today as “pseudokallisthenis”.
The truth is that Pliny, in the book of ‘Natyralis Hystoria (libro VIII, cap. 4)’ characteristically says that the dogs were “Indiam petenti” and certainly not Albanian. He also states that the animals were given to Alexander by the Indian King Poros.
Now, it is very peculiar, how the letter [o] in the word ‘Poros’ became [y] so we have the word ‘Pyrros’, how Alexander in 330 B.C. recognizes the word ‘Albanian’, when for the first time in bibliography it is reported by Anna Komninou (1120 A.D.) in the book ‘Alexiada’ and how Alexander, as a student of Aristotle that had abolished animal fighting in Asia applying the law of the ‘Thessalian Commonwealth’ ‘Thessaliko Koino’(pol.5.49), takes part in such an animal fight, all are rather questionable. 
Particularly, from mid 18th century A.D, Albanian Nationalism starts to develop in our neighbouring country which the Austrians of the time, and mainly the Italians, seemed to be cultivating as they were against the interests of Greece because they had aspirations in Albania and in the region of ‘Northern Epirus’. It is questionable whether these people were Albanian Nationalists, as on 16 April 1939 they had reached the point to offer the crown of ‘Skentermpeis’ to Victor Emmanouil the third, who, after the titles of king of Italy and emperor of Ethiopia, was also given the title of king of Albania (you can see details in http://www.american-bulldog.com/molossus_myth.htm)
In November 1974 (this is the date I started to do research on this subject), there had been a certain publication in the newspaper ‘Ethnikos Kirix’ of New York according to which a scientific thesis was forwarded to a famous United States university by the title “Alexander the Great, the first Albanian king”!!! This thesis included the episode with Alexandros and the ‘Albanian’ dogs, that Mr. Marinatos reports. The reaction of the Greek community in the United States was immediate and based on the research that followed the sources of the thesis in question were: 
a) The diplomatic correspondence of Abdoul Bei Fraseri, that was published in the newspaper  ‘Basiret’ of Constantinople on 7 April 1878.
b) A couple of  anonymous correspondences from Giannena , dated 12 and 19 April, that were posted in the newspaper “Messager de Wien” by the title “Albania”, on 18 May 1878.
These old correspondences “had been maintained” as valid during the 30’s, because they were financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian fascist government.
After the fuzz that was created, the false scientific thesis was withdrawn and the subject was soon forgotten. However, it appears that the above perceptions about the ‘Albanian’dogs had been quite effortlessly accepted by the Greeks, because of their precipitance to explain the origin of the Greek dog.
What is weird is the fact that if you visit web pages that concern the brachykefalic dogs of Central Asia or the Caucasian sheep dog, you will see that the episode with the “Albanian” dogs and the preponderance of the one which attacked the lion and the elephant over the other which hesitated doesn’t concern Alexandros but Kyros the Great, founder of the dynasty of Sassanides, as well as Mythridatis, the King of Pontos, respectively.
Unfortunately, this episode is used even today by “Greeks” who wish to call themselves ‘dog fanciers’ so as to sell puppies of our ‘National dog’.
These “gentlemen”, who indeed wish to promote their merchandise without even having ever heard of  important canine terms they claim that “YOU ARE BUYING THE DOG OF  ALEXANDER THE GREAT”.
The real story behind the Greek Molossian dog can be read if you follow www.cynopedia.com and by reading the articles “the adventures of the  word ‘Molossos’” and “the development of the brachykefalics - Molossians”.
Dear Mr. Geneiatakis, please forgive my angry tone, but I am sick and tired of  speaking about canisfamiliaris without referring to how this marvel of nature should stand, walk, run and without stating what we owe it, but instead being preoccupied with making references to ‘historical elements’ that concern Alexander, Bismarck, Czar Alexander etc.
Finally, I would like to say that I consider manipulating the historical truth identical with treason.
Sincerely,
Pericles Kosmopoulos
Bioelectrical Engineer
 Bibliography.
Alexandros [Papadopoulos] “Albanian Nationalism and Ecumenical Hellenism”, publications ‘Nea synora’ –Libanis publications
Mario Zacchi, “Il Molosso”, ‘Calderini’ publications
‘History of Greek Veterinary’, by Anastasios Tsaknakis, Thessalonica 1994,
Magazine “To Vlemma”