Who came first: Dogs or Dog Owners?

Here lies the question.

So you've got the Dog (Canis lupus familiaris). It is a domestic subspecies of the wolf and a mammal of the Canidae family. Over time, the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds with a great degree of variation. For example, you've got the Chihuahua that is no larger than a rat and the Great Dane that can reach heights of 3 feet and weighs more than 175lbs. There are different colours such as "red" or "chocolate" and a dog's coat can vary from coarse, short hair to long, curly, smooth hair in a range of patterns. Since the Dog is a ancient decendent of the Wolf it has a storied past. Dogs have been considered "Gods" (note the recipricol spelling), been used to guard precious stones and people, used in a variety of work settings, to kill unwanted rodents or venemous snakes and lizards, save people from extreme conditions and even been a source of daily proteins. The loyalty and devotion that dogs demonstrate as part of their natural instincts as pack animals closely mimics the human idea of love and friendship, leading many dog owners to view their pets as full-fledged family members. I believe this is where the problem started...

Now we look at the Dog Owner (Homo lovhis canis). They are a subspecies of man (Homo sapien) that broke away from our evolutionary line over 1000 years ago. This split was likely due to their inability to relate with their fellow man and their smaller cranium size. Like the Dog, the Dog Owner has developed into several breeds. They range from Granola eating, patchouli smelling Hippies that name their dogs after the great Native God of Nature, Glooskap; to plastic looking, crotch displaying Meg-hotel Heiresses that carry their dogs around in handbags to ensure that they don't have to clean up after their canine as their purse doubles as a pooper scooper (brand name?); to the "Our dog is our best friend" breed that seem to take a back seat to their dog's life and is at the beck and call of their canine, "Are you hungry Rex? Let's take Rex for a walk, he needs to get out of the house. Sorry, I can't leave Rex alone for more than a couple hours! Oh Rex, I know that Shitting on our bed is your way of telling us that you're lonely, let's spend more time with Rex this weekend. Call the Johnsons and cancel going to the Rolling Stones Concert, it's going to just be us and Rex this weekend!" Due to the Dog Owner's inability to distinguish the difference between friendship and instinct they now truely believe that their dog is their "Best Friend".

So we come back to the important question... who came first? When did dogs make the transition from guarding the Royal Gates to wearing plaid rain coats? Didn't anyone catch on that there was a change occuring? How did the guy who bought a Dog to get rid of his cobra problem decide to let the snake killer lick his face? Didn't the Gate Keeper's wife find it strange when she came home one day to find the Royal Guard Dog asleep on their couch with a massive pool of piss on the kitchen floor?

So maybe the question isn't who came first but who holds the evolutionary upper hand? Is a Dog Owner taking their Dog for a walk or is it the other way around. Who cleans up after who? In many cultures people who clean up the feces of another are considered to be lower on the social and in many cases the intellectual ladder. When was the last time you saw a dog doing chores around the house? If some one lived in my house for 15 years and never once cleaned up after themselves, I'd be a little peaved to say the least.

This is a complex issue that like Global Warming needs to be addressed. If everyone turns a blind eye or expects someone else to do something about it, the issue will only get worse. Do we want this problem to be our children's problem or our children's children's problem? Think Globally, act Locally. Have your Dog Owners spade or Neutered and end the problem in our Generation!