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The dog’s story begins in the lush forests of some 50 million years ago with a small, tree-climbing creature, Miacis. This undoglike patriarh was also the progenitor of both bear and raccoon. From him evolved a carnivore we call Hesperocyon. Though Hesperocyon’s long body and short legs little resembled the dog’s, he had developed many dog like characteristics.

Some 25 to 30 million years ago two larger, shortertailed, distinctly doglike forms named Temnocyon and Cynodesmus made their appearance on the open plains. Both evolved from Hesperocyon. Temnocyon is considered the ancestor of today’s wild dogs of India, Africa, and Brazil. Cynodesmus became the ancestor of our modern wolves, coyotes, jackals, foxes, and domestic dogs.
Though wolves and dogs sprang from a common ancestor, the form er m aintained their wildness and ferocity; the latter became tractable and domestic.

Man unconsciously shaped the dog he w anted. At first he kept only those m ost useful in the hunt. When he do m esticated sheep and cattle, to guard them he chose the dog which could fight off predators. Everywhere man went, dog went too, thus becoming the most widely distributed of four-footed animals. The dog adapted to every climate and every use. The great variety we see in our dogs today once served a practical purpose. The Dachshund’s body was bredsausage-shapedso he could wriggle into the badger’s den; the tuft of hair on the brow of the vermin-killing Scottie served to keep dirt out of his eyes when he, too, went to earth . The sled dog’s fur coat and plumed tail functioned as sleeping bag and muffler. Hunting dogs became specialist: long-legged Deerhounds,keen-nosed Blood hound, burly Mastiff.

Through centuries the dog’s life was not an easy one. For a long time man considered it as an efficient tool of the hunt, as burglar insurance, a shepherd, pulling power for a cart. The sports, which made dogs fight against bulls, bears, horses, even lions, and the spectacle of dog fighting dog to death wrote dark chapters in man’s attitude to his “best friend”. The 19th centu ry brought changes in canine status. As emphasis on the hunt declined, the dog’s role as companion became more important.