Woof. Mowww.
We love our dogs. And we love our cats.
The thing of it is, those dogs and cats are all so different. Not in the dog vs. cat way. But in my little white eight-pound needy-boy Lou is different from your ninety-pound, don’t-piss-me off, Rottweiler. Same for cats. Each one is unique.
It seems that dog owners slightly outnumber the fancied feline owners in America. According to the American Veterinary Association, around 39% of U.S. households have dogs, whereas 25% have cats.
But. Do we know where our pals really came from? I mean, really came from?
It has been said that they are all God’s creatures. But scientifically, it is nice to hone down their whereabouts from the past. And scientists have been doing just that.
Recent molecular evidence shows that dogs are descended from the gray wolf. Truly. The wolf/dog was domesticated about 130,000 years ago. But if they all share a common ancestor, why do Yorkies and Pit Bulls seem to have little in common?
It just so happens we can blame it on ourselves and our practice of selective breeding. We humans have been subjecting our pets to this, especially to our dogs. As a result, we have caused an artificial “evolution” of dogs into many different types.
I should note that cats come from the same exact family as each other too. From our perfect little tabbies to lions and tigers. They all belong to the same family of animals called the Felidae family. Sources list the number of breeds from 15 to 44. And many numbers in between.
I think we notice the astounding number of breeds in dogs, though. From the little toy poodle to the super-fast greyhound, this interbreeding has been going on for more than 150 years, resulting in more than 150 breeds.
The timeline of how and when this domestication happened has been a matter of speculation. Until recently, scientists thought that dogs were wild until about 12,000 years ago. But new DNA analysis suggests this all happened about 130,000 years ago — that wolf to dog jump.
If we put that timeline with the human timeline, it means that wolves began to adapt to human society long before we settled down and began practicing agriculture. We were still hunting and gathering. Rummaging.
This timing casts doubt on our purpose for domesticating dogs. The old, long-held myth suggested that humans domesticated dogs to serve as guards or companions to assist them. But now, some experts are saying that dogs were smart cookies. They figured out that the early humans would take them in out of the cold and feed them. Smarties.
Humans have evolved too. Now we have gourmet food for dogs designed by TV cooking show celebrities.
All this came to mind because the American Kennel Club recently published its annual list of most popular dog breeds. The top dog for 2021, once again, was the Labrador retriever.
The top 20 spots:
Labrador retriever
French bulldog
Golden retriever
German shepherd
Poodle
Bulldog
Beagle
Rottweiler
German shorthaired pointer
Dachshund
Australian Shepherds
Yorkshire Terriers
Boxers
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
Doberman Pinschers
Great Danes
Miniature Schnauzers
Siberian Huskies
Bernese Mountain Dogs
Coming in last place out of 197 total breeds was the Norwegian Lundehund. They used to be Puffin hunters, but not so much anymore.
And my Lou isn’t on the list. A mix of Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise.
No matter. He’s number one in my heart, and about the furthest thing from a wolf, I can think of.
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“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.”
― Mark Twain
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“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”
― Will Rogers
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“The dog is a gentleman; I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s.”
― Mark Twain
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Woof. Meeeeoooow. And how it started.
