A Dog's History of the World: Canines and the Domestication of Humans

Dog lovers will be fascinated by this history of the relationship between canines and humans by Hobgood-Oster (religion and environmental studies, Southwestern Univ.; The Friends We Keep). Despite the book's short length, the author covers a lot of ground. She begins by looking at the initial domestication of canines approximately 15,000 years ago, noting that the canines stood to gain as much from people (e.g., eating food scraps early humans threw away) as people benefited from the protection and company of canines. She goes on to explore the role dogs played in religious rituals, war, and medicine throughout human history and convincingly argues that unlike other domesticated animals, dogs occupy a unique place, whether curling up next to their master's feet or fighting alongside soldiers in World War II. The final chapter argues for the continued respect and care of dogs, particularly those breeds seen as "pariahs" or "monsters" in our culture (she explores at length the negative reputation pit bulls have acquired in our society as violent and unstable animals) and reminds the reader, "Humans are who we are in large part because dogs have shared this life with us."