Eat your pets!

 

Ok, ok…so don’t actually eat your pets please. But back in the day, specifically Texas, just a cool and easy 9,400 years ago (when it wasnt even ‘Texas’), the people who lived there were breeding and eating dogs. We know this because archaeologists found a small dog bone in ancient human fecal matter. Gross. But when your hungry, anything is game?  So, ‘man’s best friend’ may have started out as our favorite snack!

Dogs were more than likely the first animals to be fully domesticated by humans. At first it was because they were useful, they hunted with us, guarded us…and evidently…fed us as well. But over time they have gradually become the companions they are today. In the middle ages they became popular with rich ladies who loved having little ‘lap dogs’ to entertain them, these small dogs (predecessors to today’s toy breeds) also served as alarms (barking to alert its master), lap warmers, and even flea detractors…I mean, personal hygiene wasn’t really at the top of any ones list back then, so why not allow your cute, snuggly little lap dog to house all the fleas that once lived on your own body….*shudders*.

Pet ownership has had its ups and downs though, in the 16th and 17th centuries, having a pet could have even gotten you killed! During the the super awesome fun times of the witch trials, having a pet  was often times viewed as having a ‘familiar’, or a animal companion that ‘witches’ supposedly had, which was viewed as a symbol of satan. These pets were often used in the witch trials as evidence of their guilt. That’s called karma right? We ate them, then they got us killed for being witches…eye for an eye, right?? Luckily we moved past most of that nonsense and the modern way of keeping pets was basically formed in the Victorian era.

Victorians were known for keeping tons of different animals; dogs, cats, birds (even ravens!), poultry, bees, goats, donkeys, horses….and plenty of exotic animals too! Such as lemurs, monkeys and different types of reptiles. They were also super into aquariums (which I can totally relate to.)

Its not just dogs that have been domesticated for long periods of time, obviously we all know the history of the ancient Egyptians and cats. But cats basically domesticated themselves (if you can truly call a cat ‘domesticated’, thats another story), they formed a mutually beneficial relationship with humans where thecats protected us from rodent infestations and we allowed them to hang out and do their thing. And this all started some 8,000 years ago in the middle east…time flies, amiright?

People have had pets for as long as we have been….well…people! And aside from basics such as dogs and cats and modern day livestock, we also have had…well…weirder choices too. People have and still do keep, insects/arachnids (tarantulas, cockroaches, scorpions..), lizards,snakes, skunks, foxes, sugar gliders….the list goes on and on!

 

Thanks and credit for a lot of this information goes to…..

Alison Ault who wrote the article “Ask Smithsonian:When did people start keeping pets?” at http://www.Smithsonian.com

An article titled “The evolution of pet ownership” no author was given at http://www.pedigree.com

Casey Smith who wrote the article “Cats Domesticated Themselves, Ancient DNA Shows” at http://www.news.nationalgeographic.com