Unlike our human friends, we dogs don’t spend much time pondering our roots. Wolves, dinosaurs, aliens…given our short lifespan, it doesn’t really matter how we got here. What matters is doing our job: being loving loyal friends to you origin-obsessed two-leggeds. That said, an article in this week’s LA Times claims to shed some light on just how long the human-canine dynamic has been going on. According to the piece by Monte Morin, researchers “have concluded that dog domestication most likely occurred in Ice Age Europe, between 18,800 and 32,100 years ago — much earlier, and much farther north, than previously believed. Dogs, the authors argued, evolved from a now extinct species of European wolf that followed bands of nomadic or semi-nomadic humans who were hunting woolly mammoths and other large prey. Initially, the wolves sought out the carcasses and scraps of meat left behind by man, the authors suggest. Over time, these hang-around wolves began to fill a special role in human hunter-gatherer society.” read more: When – and where – did dogs become our pets?
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Speaking of being loyal friends, homo sapiens often return the favor. In an essay in Parade Magazine, Love Me, Love My Dog, author Jon Katz (The Dogs Of Bedlam Farm) recalls how to wooing his wife meant befriending her very skittish rescue dog. It took time and patience, but eventually he captured both their hearts.
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Want to be a loving caretaker to your 4-legged amigo? Be sure to check out Cesar’s Way article by Jon Bastian on ‘Puppycide’,a documentary in progress which examines the rise in dog shootings by law enforcement, and offers some tips on what might be done to curb potentially fatal dog-police encounters
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Louis Spirito 