And now for some uncommon mythology: the Angha is an ancient Persian mythological creature said to be part dog, part peacock, and was generally considered benevolent.

I chose to base the dog half on salukis, because they're beautiful dogs and native to that region anyway. I tried to mix both dog and bird anatomy in the forelegs, hopefully it worked well enough. Forgive my lazy, messy background -- I've actually never drawn a tree with leaves before, strangely enough! And the carving on the ruins in the background is how the Angha was originally portrayed, by the way.