Never underestimate an old lady who loves dogs and was born in april Shirt

It’s not hard to imagine that the coupling of human tools and weapons with canine speed and tracking capabilities created a formidable combination, one that benefited both partners. Indeed, at least one set of model studies with present-day hunter-gatherer tribes shows a more than 50 percent increase in hunting success when dogs are present. Dogs, in turn, are rewarded with steady meals and safe places to call home.Beyond Mutual BenefitBut even in those early days, something beyond mutual benefit seems to have connected our two species. Dogs, or rather, dogs’ ancestors, were the first animals to be domesticated. Notably, they are also the only large social carnivore and only canid that we’ve taken so thoroughly into our lives. While we can theorize, we still don’t know with certainty what drove the two species to give coexistence a go to begin withWhat we do know is that as early as 33,000 years ago, proto-dogs were being given ritual burials by their proud or grateful or perhaps even grief-stricken human companions. Photographs of the remains of a dog sent to the afterlife with a mammoth bone tucked deliberately (dare I say fondly?) in his mouth evoke wonder in me every time I look at themUltimately, this relationship changed the course of human evolution in nearly every direction. Domesticating dogs paved the way for the establishment of more permanent settlements by making hunting easier and camp security better. Once we reached this point of stability, we began domesticating other animals. Finally, between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago, agrarian societies developed, with predictable consequences for our diets, mobility (equine transportation!) and social relationships. Throughout this time, living with dogs enabled us to maintain links to the “natural order” away from which we were rapidly drifting.

Never underestimate an old lady who loves dogs and was born in april Shirt

All of this is to say that in essence, just as dogs are dogs because of us, we are humans because of them. Today, of all the domesticated animals we’ve surrounded ourselves with, we have the closest relationships with dogs. This may be partially because they have been able to adapt to the human social fabric more readily and ably than any other species. As a result, dogs are welcome and present both in the home and within the broader human environment, which they fluidly navigate.Dogs As GuidesAs is true of most developed countries, in the United States, we have largely shifted away from an agrarian society in which it was more common to see working and utility dogs rather than canine human companions. Today, Americans spend roughly $70 billion on their (generally non-working) pets annually, and many report spending more on their dog or cat’s health care than on their own. Which raises the question: if, after 15,000 years, their primary place is no longer on the hunt or on the farm, what is dogs’ function in our modern, technology-driven human world—what role do they play?As someone who studies cognition, I’m heavily invested in science. But at the risk of sounding completely unscientific, I suggest that it’s something akin to “spirit guide,” creatures who both occupy our world and expand it.