We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby: The Evolution of Modern Pet Ownership

A woman and dog laughingAccording to anthropologists, it was the wolf that helped bridge the gap between humans and four-legged animals several thousand years ago, giving humans an advantage over the Neanderthal populations that dominated at the that time.

Early humans succeeded in domesticating wolves to help guard their camps, alert them to danger, and help them with the hunting of mammoths and other large mammals. Cats joined the picture later on, during the rise of agriculture, and became valued for their ability to keep mice and other vermin out of homes, barns, and grain stores. With the help of these synergistic relationships, early humans managed to survive in a very primitive world.

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