I think it's understandable that I have dogs on my mind lately.
It's only been a few weeks since I had to put my 16-year-old dog, Hilda, down and I'm still surprised how hard it was. Unlike almost any other domesticated animal, dogs have an incredibly close relationship with humans. I was always amazed at how Hilda could seem to read my every expression and know just what me clearing my throat at her meant. Frankly, I think that, along with the innate urge to please people, may be the chief advantage of having dogs over children. Also, dogs don't ask for expensive electronics or college educations. Dogs are humankind's best, and possibly oldest, friends. There's evidence that humans and domestic dogs have lived together more than 12,000 years by even the most conservative estimates. And, all the hundreds of varieties of dogs all came from a common ancestor of the wolf. So, think about that, everything from the Bull Mastiff to the Shiba Inu to the Chinese Crested all came from a common, wolf-like ancestor.
And, that's what I'm sharing with you this week, a TED video, by way of BoingBoing titled A Brief History of Dogs. It's only five minutes long and mostly accurate, though it incorrectly says that all modern dogs are descended from the grey wolf, "canis lupus", which researchers know is not quite correct any more. (For more on that, check out this article from LiveScience.)
Anyway, the video is short and fun and mostly accurate. And, it's about dogs. Who doesn't like videos about dogs, even if they're animated and about science?
Enjoy your weekend!
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