About this Book

When Homo sapiens sapiens met Canis lupus lupus millennia ago, the result was Canis lupus familiaris,
the domestic dog. Since that fateful encounter, the dog has become,
arguably, humankind’s greatest creation. The domestic dog is the most
widely distributed species (other than ourselves) in the world, being
found virtually wherever people live, and is also the most diversified
of species, with literally hundreds of recognized breeds.

While we have shaped the dog, it, too, has helped shape human history in innumerable ways. Our Debt to the Dog
is a critical historical and cross-cultural examination, through the
use of case studies, of this most  improbable 15,000-year relationship
and an exploration of how this relationship shaped the history of the
world. It is also very much an apology to the dog because over the
course of the partnership horrific acts were perpetrated against it
intentionally and otherwise. Our Debt to the Dog enriches
our understanding of the dog and extends our appreciation for the
profound complexity of past and present human-canine relationships and
the dog’s contributions to our lives and our world.