Dr. Carolyn WIllekes, Mount Royal University

Animal shelters are emptying these days as people rush to get a dog—a source of comfort and companionship as we shelter from the COVID-19 virus. And though all dogs breeds, from a teacup Chihuahua to the massive Great Dane, can ultimately trace their origins back to a common wild ancestor—the wolf (Canis lupus)—today there are over 200 breeds of dog (Canis familiaris) to choose from! How did that happen? The process that brought us this exuberant variety is the result of domestication. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly when or where it began. It may have started as long ago as 40,000 years, or as recently as 15,000. What we know for certain is that the dog was the first animal that humans domesticated.