O R E G O N S LE S B IA N /G A Y /B I/TR A N S /Q U E E R NEW SM A G AZIN E
DECEMBER 3 2010
3 5 J W
VO ICES
T h e W o lf in M y P arlo r
O n any given evening, no matter whats
transpired during the day, you will likely find
me snuggled with a snoring canine pal. She
rolls over, stretching her clawed feet and open­
ing her mouth wide in a relaxing yawn. W ith
my face inches from the gleaming white canines
in her muscled jaws, I marvel at our unspoken
pact. She could rip my face off if she chose to,
but she doesn’t. She has elected a life o f creature
comforts by associating with a nearly hairless,
thumb-sporting, lumbering primate. I, on the
other hand, have chosen a companion whose
ancestors ate my ancestors. Still, the partnership
seems to suit us well.
Surprisingly, there’s a lack of widely accepted
scientific research on the origins of domestic
dogs and the early canine-human relationship.
Perhaps the dog has been close for so long, we
simply take him for granted. But here is a sum­
mary of what we do know.
Canis lupus and Canis lupus familiaris share
nearly all their DNA. Wolves and domestic dogs
are fully capable of interbreeding. Mitochondrial
D N A studies coupled with archaeology provide
certain evidence that man’s best friend was once
the Big Bad Wolf. Beyond that, there is a great
deal of controversy surrounding the evolutionary
framework of the dog. Most make the claim that
man consciously domesticated wolves. They
speculate early members of the Homo genus be­
gan to grow food and make settlements, and
b y M a r/ M a n d e ve ille . DC
In North A m erica, w e drove
th e w ild w o lf to near e xtin ctio n
in th e lost century. At th e
some tim e, we b ro u g h t dogs
with us into urban settings in
larg e numbers even os we left
o th e r anim als b ehind.
wolves hovered about for easy pickings in the
garbage piles of the two-legged creatures. Over
centuries, Homo sapiens noted hunting, guard­
ing and herding skills in their four-legged group­
ies and actively encouraged those with desirable
traits through selective breeding.
O ther experts believe the modern dog began
to separate from its wild predecessor long be­
fore Australopithecus and Neanderthalensis
gave way to Homo sapiens. Perhaps, they sug­
gest, a tentative working agreement between
the two predatory species developed during an­
cient hunter-gatherer times. The superior hear­
ing and olfaction o f the sharp-toothed, four­
legged ones aided the weapon-wielding,
fire-building upright ones. It’s possible the om­
nivore-carnivore association triggered the birth
of agriculture and the maintenance of herds of
food animals and not the other way around.
However it happened, one thing is clear:
Over millennia dogs and humans adapted to
changing circumstances, and our alliance ap­
pears to have supported the success of both.
O ther mammals, birds and fish have become
endangered or gone extinct while humans and
dogs continue to go forth and multiply. In
North America, we drove the wild wolf to near
extinction in the last century. At the same time,
we brought dogs with us into urban settings in
large numbers even as we left other animals be­
hind. People decided to live without their goats
and chickens (except in Portland, but that’s for
another column), but we dug in our heels about
keeping our best friend at our sides.
Back to the dog now lounging in a fleece
blanket by the heater, keeping me company;
domesticity appears to have extinguished any
wolf in her. Her coat is thin and would fail to
protect her from extremes o f temperature if
ever she needed to survive in the wild. Her
muzzle is shorter, her teeth less formidable and
her brain smaller than her wild cousin’s. In spite
o f these deficits, her affiliation with people af­
fords her and her clan the kind of biological
success wolves can only dream of.
W hat of me, what do. I gain from this prox­
imity to tooth and claw? Between thumbs,
brains and checkbooks, I and my human com­
patriots have survival mostly covered. Still, the
canine-human bond endures.
As the need for hunting and herding wanes,
canines sniff out and warn of cancer, seizures and
migraine headaches. They search for the missing,
they provide service to people with disabilities.
They trigger speech in those with communica­
tion disorders, stimulate fading memory in nurs­
ing homes and bring smiles to those in hospitals.
Most important to me, they keep love simple.
Not unconditional, mind you, but uncluttered.
The relationship forged over 10,000 years
seems to have wound its way so deep into the fi­
bers of primate and canine consciousness we
have forgotten why or how it started. We simply
know each other’s company and seek to keep it.
The lethal teeth of my buddy disappear behind
floppy lips and a soft tummy turns my way. M u­
tual trust is proffered and the connection feels
eternal. The wolf who traveled down the ages to
land in my parlor appears to be here to stay. JM
M ary M andeville practices animal chiropractic
in Portland. She’s working on a hook about the ca­
nine-human relationship. Visit her on the web at
maryamandeville. com.
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