Nearly all domestic dogs are descended from the Eurasian gray wolf (Canis lupus). They first became pets long before we domesticated farm animals or developed agriculture or the written word, so we don't know where or when it happened. However, it only makes sense that the wolves who were the least fearful of humans got close enough to eat our leftovers. Their domestication was part natural selection and part deliberate breeding, and that's how we got the dogs we cherish so much today.
There is plenty of evidence that ancient people loved their dogs just as much, even when their dogs weren't at all useful outside of companionship. This is probably because the puppies they raised learned to communicate with humans in a human way- the dogs made eye contact, which wolves will never do. They learned to read our moods and intentions. They learned that we like how they depend on us. They learned how to make us love them. Read how all this came about at LitHub. -via Nag on the Lake
(Image credit: Razvan Antonescu)
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