My Pet World: How the dog truly represents the eighth Wonder of the World

Q: You mentioned in your article about the variety of tail shapes in dogs that this illustrates how you believe that the dog is the eighth Wonder of the World. I was curious on why you feel that way and if you could elaborate a bit on it? -- Sandra Williams, Chicago, IL

A: One of the most amazing facts about the domestic dog that has always amazed me is that genetically it is the same animal as the wolf -- dogs and wolves can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

This is not so surprising when you put a wolf and a German Shepherd side by side but if you put a wolf next to a Maltese and told a person who does not know they were the same species of animal then they would be amazed.

In these days of cloning, GMO's and other such technology, the idea of contemporary scientists changing the looks and behavior of one species of animal into something different is not that big of a deal. But try and imagine Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble doing this because it was early man that domesticated wolves into dogs. They did this with no knowledge of genetics or evolution or spontaneous occurring mutations that contemporary breeders of animals do.

Thousands of years ago certain wolves, of their own choosing, became habituated to the early man. There were some humans who were interested in these animals and thought of them not as something to be killed but as creatures that should hang around. Most likely these early pet keepers were the direct descendants of me and all you readers who also share my fascination with the natural world.

As time went on, these habituated wolves began to prove their worth to the community, either in helping during the hunt or warning of danger. That's when the rest of the people realized their value and took an active part in providing for them.

Spontaneous mutations appeared in the offspring of these wolves. It affected their looks, ability and temperament. These mutations pleased their caretakers and assured their survival when times were hard to care for the animals.

The mutations were passed down to the next generation and over time we changed the way those wolves looked and acted by merely taking better care of the ones that we liked best or found more useful. At that time, none of those people had any knowledge of genetics at all. Eventually, they ended up creating hundreds of breeds of dogs and each breed represents a time in human culture, history and they all have a story to tell.

This month is the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in Madison Square Garden. It is an event where these breeds are all compared and celebrated and their stories told to a new generation of pet keepers eager to learn about them. Without dogs we would still be living in caves as it was the early keeping of these habituated wolves that gave man the idea that certain animals were of more use to us alive than dead. This evolved into keeping other animals, such as horses and cows and it was those animals that really gave us the free time to allow our brains to develop the technology that we so cherish today.

It is for this reason that I think of the dog as the eighth Wonder of the World as its creation to me is certainly more amazing than any Pyramid or monument and certainly a lot more useful and life altering and cuddly.

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(Marc Morrone has kept almost every kind of animal as a pet for the last half-century and he is happy to share his knowledge with others. Although he cannot answer every question, he will publish many of those that have a general interest. You can contact him at petxperts2@aol.com; please include your.)