Xolotl was the dog god of the Mexica people, commonly known as the Aztecs. He is represented in codices, statuary, and other extant examples of Aztec art as a dog or a god with the head of a dog. While this figure might seem obscure, his name and role echo into the present day through a critically endangered amphibian, a scruffy but loyal companion on an adventure to the afterlife, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, a breed of hairless dog.

The name Xolotl comes from the Nahuatl language and is pronounced "SHOH-lot", with the emphasis on the penultimate syllable as is usual with words in Nahuatl. Xolochaui, another word in the Nahuatl language, means "to wrinkle or double over," and Xolotl himself is often depicted in art with deep grooves in the skin of his face.

His name was synonymous with the Nahuatl term for twin, xolotl, and appeared in the word for the double maguey, mexolotl, a plant that had a number of uses in Aztec culture, including bloodletting rituals, the creation of fibrous rope, and the brewing of pulque.

While twins were generally seen as a bad omen and viewed with trepidation in the Aztec civilization, Xolotl was the patron god of twins and individuals with physical abnormalities, which were a subject of fascination in Mesoamerican cultures. "In Olmec art representations of dwarves and hunchbacks abound. Rather than being objects of derision, these individuals are often portrayed with great supernatural powers" (Miller & Taube, 75). According to one source, individuals with physical abnormalities were referred to as xolome. Indeed, xolotl is also the Nahuatl name for courtly pages. These pages were often individuals with physical abnormalities, some of whom, like those in the court of Motecuhzoma II (commonly known as Montezuma), entertained the tlatoani and sometimes advised him on matters pertaining to Aztec religion and government. Likely referencing Xolotl, two-headed dogs and figures with hunched backs and dwarfism appear frequently in the Protoclassical ceramic art of West Mexico.

While dogs were primarily bred in Mesoamerica for use as food and were considered by the Aztecs to be unclean and unvirtuous creatures, they were also regarded as companions and guides to their masters in death. As Miller and Taube note, "In both Aztec and Maya belief, dogs, perhaps embodying the role of Xolotl, guided their masters into the Underworld after death and were of particular use in crossing bodies of water" (80).

As the canine companion to the powerful god Quetzalcoatl, also known as Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl in his manifestation as a wind god, Xolotl is depicted in art wearing the wind god's emblematic conch shell pectoral, which was known in Nahuatl as ehecailacacozcatl, "wind jewel." Through this relationship, Xolotl was associated with the evening star, mirroring Quetzalcoatl's identification with the morning star under which role he was called Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, "Lord of the Dawn." According to Manuel Aguilar-Moreno in his book Handbook to Life in the Aztec World, Xolotl accompanied Quetzalcoatl on his mission to retrieve bones from the underworld in order to create humanity, a role consistent with his canine nature in the Mesoamerican imagination.

Xolotl also appears as a reluctant sacrifice in the Aztec myth of the creation of the fifth sun. After the destruction of the four preceding suns, the gods come together at Teotihuacan to witness a sacrifice that will create a new sun and moon. This fifth sun – Nahui Ollin, meaning 4 Motion – and its moon are born from the sacrifice of two gods, Nanahuatzin and Tecciztecatl, respectively. But even after the sun and moon are created, the gods find that they will not move without further sacrifice, at which point they begin to line up to give their lives to the cause. Aguilar-Moreno writes, "While both celestial bodies had appeared, neither moved. Understanding this as a sign of their fate, the gods freely accepted death, sacrificing themselves…and offering their own blood, or chalchiuatl (precious water) to generate movement of the Sun" (Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 161)

While most of the gods willingly offer themselves for sacrifice, setting a mythic precedent for the Aztec culture of human sacrifice, Xolotl attempts to escape. According to Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, priest and author of the Florentine Codex, Xolotl makes his first attempt to escape by turning into a double maize plant. When he is discovered in that guise, he turns into a doubled maguey plant, and when that transformation fails to conceal him, he turns into a salamander still known today by its Nahuatl name, axolotl. The word axolotl is a combination of the Nahuatl terms xolotl (explained above) and atl, meaning "water," and so could be roughly translated as "water twin." Even in the form of an axolotl, Xolotl is ultimately caught and sacrificed along with the rest of the gods, who, being extra-mortal in nature, would not actually perish when sacrificed but return to play their part in the cycle of sacrificial reciprocity with humanity central to Aztec beliefs.

As mentioned above, Xolotl's contribution to the Aztecs' culture and worldview did not disappear with the fall of their empire. Centuries after his mythic attempts to cheat death, axolotls still bear the name of the dog god. Critically endangered though they are, these amphibians are extremely popular in art, as stuffed animals, and in just about any form that can mimic or depict their unique shape. Axolotls have even inspired not one but two species of Pokémon, Wooper and Mudkip, adding a distinctive splash to one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

An homage to Xolotl also appears in the 2017 Disney film Coco in the form of a dog poignantly named Dante. A loyal canine in the mold of Xolotl, Dante accompanied Coco's young protagonist, Miguel, on his journey to the afterlife to visit his deceased relatives. The themes and designs featured in the movie reference the traditions of Día de los Muertos, a celebration that itself has roots in Aztec cultural traditions. One of these traditions, which has persisted since ancient times in Mesoamerica, includes the use of marigold flowers, known to Nahuatl speakers as cempoalxochitl, meaning "20 flower," in their symbolic role as offerings to the dead. Dante, almost certainly named after Dante Alighieri, the author of the Divine Comedy, represents an echo of Xolotl not just in his role as guide into the underworld, but in his appearance. He is hairless except for a few wisps around his ears and tail, carefully wrinkly, and very off-kilter in his physicality. Even his slightly torn left ear might be a reference to the extant codices in which Xolotl is commonly portrayed with a ragged-edged ear.

Finally, Dante's design reflects a real-life breed of hairless dog known as the xoloitzcuintli, literally "xolo dog" from the Nahuatl term itzcuintli, meaning "dog." This breed, native to modern-day Mexico, would likely have been a common sight in the Aztec world, and their smooth skin comes in a number of shades which always show their wrinkles prominently – xolochaui alive and well in the modern world. According to the American Kennel Club, xoloitzcuintli dogs are generally playful, high-energy, and affectionate, and the AKC characterizes the breed as alert, loyal, and calm, much in keeping with the stalwart companion of the Mesoamerican imagination.

Whether in the form of a Pokémon, psychopomp, or puppy, Xolotl has left a small legacy in the modern world, providing an opportunity for those aware of his unique history to look into the living likeness of an Aztec god.