Freckles speckle his pink, wrinkly skin. Whiskers sprout between his veiny ears and at the end of his rat-like tail. And whoever heard of a dog needing sunscreen and body lotion?

It's no wonder that people stare at Juan, a hairless Mexican Xoloitzcuintle dog, when his owner takes him to the park in Mexico City.

"People don't know what they are. They ask us what's wrong with them. They say, 'Why are your dogs bald?' and suggest cures," said Ana Maria Rivera, who owns Juan and 40 other Xoloitzcuintles (pronounced show-low-itz-CWINT-lehs).

Lovers of fluffy pooches might recoil at their clammy skin, but Xolos (pronounced SHOW-los) are becoming the ultimate cool pet: a 3,500-year-old breed that has defied unlucky genes, Aztec cooking pots and sacrificial daggers to come back from near-extinction.

Xolos are emotionally fragile and have delicate skin that burns easily and poor teeth that prefer carrots to bones.

The breed had nearly died out by the 1950s. But its numbers have rebounded to several thousand in its native Mexico, the United States and Europe.

"I love them because they are truly Mexican," said Jorge Luis Gallardo, a bank executive in Mexico City. "There's a lot of our . . . spirit in them. People killed them, they ate them and sacrificed them -- but, like us, they survived."

Great Bed Warmers

Xolos were the first domestic dog in the Americas. The Aztecs used them as bed warmers, and they cuddled them like hot water bottles to ease arthritis, stomach cramps and fever.

They believed the dogs could guide human souls to the afterlife; Xolos were killed with a dagger to the heart when their masters died and were put in the coffins. The Aztecs also believed that eating Xolos warded off bad dreams and evil.

"Despite all the adversity, they are still around. They're amazing," said Gallardo.

The dogs are native to Mexico's baking-hot west coast, where not having hair helps them cope with heat and bugs. But it also means they suffer from sunburn, shiver in the cold and easily nick their skin. The gene that makes them hairless also gives them their bad teeth.

Baths, Blankets and Broccoli

In the 1950s, Mexico's Canine Federation sent expeditions to the Pacific coast, where some Xolos survived in the wild. The goal was to collect purebred puppies and revive the breed. The plan worked: Today, a Xolo puppy costs more than $1,000, and grown dogs are worth thousands of dollars.

Owners praise the animals' affectionate nature and the fact that they don't shed, barely smell and can't get fleas.

On the downside, they must have lots of baths and get slathered with skin cream and sunblock. Some owners also scrub them with special sponges to prevent pimples.

Xolos need extra-soft blankets and special leashes that don't pinch their rubbery skin. Their bad teeth make them fussy eaters, with a taste for cooked vegetables.

But they're worth it, said Mario Cortes, Rivera's husband: "They are living fossils, and they always attract attention."

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