Don't bother with the whole article, Joan, it wanders. I seem to have overexcerpted and undercommented. Everybody seems to be taking it more seriously than I did. The particular point that I got out of it was that domestic dogs split off from wolves 100,000 years ago, deep in human prehistory, when humans presumably didn't have much of an idea what was going on. Coevolution seems more accurate than domestication in describing how we relate.
The genetic evidence is new, but the related idea of dogs keeping humans more than vice versa has been seen in SF and humor before. Though the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy gave more credit to seals, I think, as in "So long, and Thanks for all the Fish".
Having listened to our old stray Cocker Spaniel "talking" in his sleep, I know dogs dream, and I'm sure they have an inner life we can't quite fathom. Fascinating creatures, often poorly served by humans, unfortunately, between the puppy mills and the show dog people, assiduously inbreeding for arbitrary and bizarre conformation standards. The dogs will be ok, though, at least while they have work to do. I don't think the AKC will be able to ruin border collies, as long as there are sheep to herd.
Cheers, Dan. |
