A Brief History of Loving Dogs

The first dog is believed to have been large, toothy, and 31,700 years old.  It was found in Belgium.  Prior to the discovery of this dog the oldest (now second oldest) known dog was 14,000 years old and was discovered in Russia. It seems they may have earned their keep, using their large size and powerful bite to help their human counterparts bring down prey.

The skulls of these beasts indicate a larger cranial cavity and shorter snout, along with various genetic markers that make them distinct from their wolf-y relatives.  A couple theories on the domestication process exist, one is that humans would kill a mother wolf and take in her pups, breeding the most docile among them.  In 10 short generations a genetically distinct 'dog' could come about.  The other theory is that wolves self-domesticated.  It was more advantageous to be able to get closer to humans, because humans throw away food, and food they didn't even have to hunt.  It's also possible that a combination of the two theories occurred to bring us our domestic dog.

Though dogs were advantageous in this ancient time, its unclear whether or not they were loved with the same ooey-gooey passion that pets today are spoiled with.  We do have indicators that pets were valued and respected through remains found in Siberia.  These remains are between 5,000 and 8,000 years old.  Dogs were put to rest alongside humans, indicating that they were held in high regard.  With no hearts drawn around the grave it's unclear whether or not their owners felt love for them, but they were at the very least, respected within the existing social structure of the time.

Mesopotamiais the first strong indication of love towards our pets as we understand it today.  The art depicts not only the previously traditional associations of hunting with dogs, and using them as guards, but also dogs being included in more domestic activities, such as listening to music.

In ancient Egypt dogs were thought to intercede on the owner's behalf with Anubis (Guardian of the dead and weigher of the heart), and were buried with their owners.  This was such a popular practice that an estimated 8 million dogs are spread throughout catacombs that date an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.  Dogs were revered.  They were treated as worthy of full mummification, and ancient Egyptian art depicts them as companions, guards, and hunters.

Since ancient times dogs have been our ancient companions, and throughout the eons we've developed an affection for each other beyond the useful.