Why Do We NEED Dogs ?

It has been said that dogs originated from the grey wolf. The first recorded signs of the human-dog relationship started between 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. We don’t know if the wolf approached man or man approached the wolf. I’m sure it doesn’t matter because, both the wolf and the humans benefited from this developing relationship. The wolf helped humans during the hunt, they alerted them when their enemies drew near and they also kept their humans warm during the fridget nights. In turn, the wolf was fed on a regular basis. Since wolves are known as pack animals, they felt the need to belong to a pack and allow humans to be their pack leader.

Over the centuries, wolves some-how transformed into what we now know as dogs. During the Middle Ages, people saw dogs as a status symbol and the affluent believed owning a dog would increase their class of distinction. During this time, there was an explosion in the variety of dog breeds. There were large dogs, small dogs, colorful dogs and dogs with personalities. This is what has developed into the modern day dog.

Today, humans rely on dogs for a number of reasons. For some, having a dog fulfills a number of emotional needs. While others, like myself depend on a dog to maintain our independence. Dogs have come a long way since the Middle Ages. They have been trained to help humans accomplish some incredible everyday jobs. It is hard to believe that dogs are used in so many areas of our society. Think about it for a moment! The list of working dogs is astounding. From search and rescue to the military and police services, to helping people with disabilities to protecting someone’s place of business, dogs have impacted our lives in many ways.

Why do we NEED dogs? Well, I’ll tell you. We NEED dogs because without dogs in our lives we would be void of the unconditional love and devotion that is necessary for our emotional well being. We would not be able to accomplish the many tasks that humans are not capable of doing without a dog. It is incredible how much a dog does for us and all they need in return is food and shelter as well as knowing that they are a part of our pack and we are their pack leaders.

Over the next few days/weeks, I will be writing about some of the well known working dogs such as Guide Dogs, Special Skills Dogs, Hearing Dogs, Seizure Dogs, Search and Rescue Dogs, K9 Police dogs as well as the many working dogs that people are not aware of. I hope you will come back to learn and read more about these magnificent creatures.