'MO - February 2009 - (Page 9)

community PET PROJECT In Our Genes By Julie Forbes I have been thinking a lot about dogs and people and how the two species fit into society together and have investigated the most popular theories about how dogs came to live with people as pets, and it seems that they chose us, as opposed to us having chosen them. Wolves started hanging around the outskirts of human villages and waited for the people to toss out their edible garbage. The process of domestication seems to lean most of its weight on something called “ﬂight distance”. Flight distance is how close an animal will let a human get to them before they run away. The wolves that stayed the closest to the human taking out the trash, were the closest to the garbage once the human was gone, and got to eat more, therefore increasing survival, and therefore increasing breeding. The wolves with short ﬂight distances bred with each other and created puppies that started out a little more comfortable around people than their ancestors. There are other traits that are genetically linked to short ﬂight distance and associated with dogs and not wolves. Drum roll? They are: ﬂopped over ears, mixed coat color and … barking! This genetic discovery was originally uncovered on a fox farm that bred foxes for their fur. The people started selectively breeding the “nicer” foxes that didn’t bite, because they were easier to handle. After only ten fox generations (within ONE human lifetime) the fox’s ears drooped, their coats started showing up blotchy black and white and they started barking! Imagine the ancestral human watching the wild wolf transform right before their eyes into a relatively domestic dog. No wonder dogs have historically held some spiritual and mystical value to us. Dogs have repeatedly been found in ancient graves buried with humans, often facing each other, paw-in-hand, literally. Perhaps they were sacrificed, or were buried as a guardian of the human’s soul. Sounds about right to me. I have come across plenty of information about wolves turning into dogs and how the process happened, behaviorally and genetically. But what about what is happening to us, genetically and behaviorally, considering dogs have been living with people for anywhere from 14,000 to over 100,000 years? Are WE programmed to live with dogs? Dogs started hanging around us for the advantage of easy food, and humans soon found benefit in their presence as a guardian, predator alarm, garbage disposal, hunting partner and eventually, a non-judgmental family member. If dogs are genetically programmed to live with us … are we likewise genetically programmed to live with them? To me, it sure feels like it! Julie Forbes owns Sensitive Dog and works with Seattle dogs and humans, bringing balance and ease to the human-canine relationship with training and behavior counseling. Julie holds a degree in Animal Science from the University of Vermont. Find her at www.sensitivedog.com. Gay City Health Project and Three Dollar Bill Cinema invite you to 2009 Sunday, Feb 22 at 4:30pm (VIP Reception at 3:30pm) (3200 First Ave South / Seattle) SoDo Park Tickets: $20 / $35 VIP Available at www.gaycity.org (Tickets are $5 more at the door) Don’t miss Seattle’s most fabulous Academy Awards Party! Spend Hollywood’s biggest night with your friends & support important community organizations! Tickets are $20 and include the Oscars on the big screen, hors d’oeuvres all evening, a complimentary drink, and one entry to win fantastic door prizes! VIP Tickets are $35 and include all of the above, PLUS early admission for a hosted VIP Champagne & Wine Reception, premium seating, two additional prize drawing entries, and an Oscar Gift Bag! $2 discount for Three Dollar Bill Cinema Members All Proceeds Benefit Thanks to Our Current Sponsors Philip Heier Associate Broker, ABR moseattle.com 9 issue #2 | february 2009 http://www.morrison-legal.com/ http://www.seattlemuscle.com http://www.gaycity.org/index.php?page=Academy_Awards_Party http://www.gaycity.org http://www.sensitivedog.com http://www.moseattle.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - February 2009

'MO - February 2009 Contents Letter From The Editor Voices Pet Project Gay Softball League Seeks New Players Instant Activist: Two Opportunities to Make a Difference Bailey-Boushay’s Chefs’ Dinner Pulls in More Than $285,000 GLSEN Releases Report on LGBT Students of Color Gay City Health Project: Race Relations Form & Function: Partner Workout Power Couple: Senator Ed Murray and Michael Shiosaki Montréal The ’mo Interview: Joe DiPietro New on DVD: Tru Loved Coming to CD/DVD: The Annie Lennox Collection SceneOut: People@Places AIDS Awareness & Action Day 2009 Capitol Hill Guide

'MO - February 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.