They’re called “man’s best friends” for a reason. The bond between canines and humans dates back to 40,000 to 30,000 years ago when we were still hunter-gatherers and we began a mutually beneficial association with wolves. They provided protection and helped us take down larger prey while we gave them food scraps in return. This triggered an artificial selection process where the animals who showed less aggression thrived, and individuals with that genetic feature multiplied. Thousands of years later, those primitive pups turned into golden retrievers. This was an overly simplified explanation, but if you want to know more about people’s favorite pets, read on!
Most of them live outside
An unfortunate fact about the world is that not all pups live safely inside with a family who loves them. For some, it’s not a problem since they are feral or wild dogs used to living in nature, but life isn’t easy for others.
Free-range dogs live outside, unconfined, and they make up between 75-85% of the total population. These include wolves, jackals, coyotes, and other canine species. However, they also encompass the 200 million stray pups scattered worldwide.
