| While humans are unique in all Creation--in our | | | | these programs often are rescuees from shelters. |
| awareness of self, of time and mortality, and of our | | | | Dogs locate people lost in the wilderness and buried in |
| responsibility to care for the rest of | | | | the wreckage of disasters. They sniff cargo for drugs, |
| Creation--companion animals have a place of special | | | | guns, bombs, and stowaway snakes; some are being |
| importance. Although humans have befriended, | | | | taught to detect cancer in people before it's diagnosed |
| benefited, and been benefited by many and varied | | | | by doctors. There are innumerable stories of dogs |
| species over the generations, cats, dogs, and horses | | | | who have rescued their people--as well as other dogs |
| stand out in their ability to bond with humans. | | | | and cats--from fire, flood, and human perpetrators of |
| A brief history of the domestication of cats | | | | evil. |
| Some experts think the cat was first tamed by 3500 | | | | ...and of horses |
| BC. The ancient Egyptians were the first people to | | | | Archaeological and paleontological evidence indicates |
| keep cats as pets; they also worshipped cats as gods. | | | | that the horse was domesticated about 3000 |
| The goddess Bastet, daughter of the sun god Ra, had | | | | BC--later than dogs and cats. At first, horses |
| a cat's head. The Egyptians loved and worshipped her, | | | | apparently were herded for meat and milk. Later, |
| and so loved cats. Deceased cats were mummified | | | | when people had learned how to cultivate grain and |
| and given the same kind of burial as human family | | | | abandoned the nomadic hunting lifestyle, they began to |
| members. | | | | appreciate the horse for its finer qualities. |
| The ancient Romans, in the conquest of Egypt, brought | | | | It would not have been easy to tame the horse for |
| cats home to Europe. After a period of disfavor during | | | | human use. The horse is a skittish animal by nature; its |
| the superstitious Middle Ages, cats were restored to | | | | instinct is to panic and flee when someone mounts its |
| hero status: when rats from Asia brought the Black | | | | back, because that is exactly how predators bring |
| Plague to Europe, people who had kept cats survived, | | | | down a horse. Yet, fortunately, humans persisted, |
| for their cats killed the rats. Soon cats became | | | | eventually earning the horse's trust. Domestication and |
| protected by law. | | | | training of horses had a profound impact on the |
| In Victorian times, cats were a favorite subject of | | | | peoples of Europe and Asia. Travel became much |
| artists and writers, and were considered part of a | | | | easier, and people began to explore and conquer. |
| happy home. Studies have shown that petting a cat | | | | As society became more civilized, the horse's job |
| lowers a person's blood pressure and that elderly | | | | requirements changed from carrying the knight into |
| people who are able to keep their pets live longer. The | | | | battle to pulling plows, stagecoaches, mail wagons, and |
| healing power of cats is being used to help people in | | | | even the first trains. With the invention of the internal |
| increasingly popular programs in which pets are taken | | | | combustion engine, the horse's importance on farms |
| to visit nursing home residents. | | | | and other workplaces all across America became |
| ...of dogs | | | | threatened. Most families were unable to keep such |
| Fossil remains suggest that five distinct types of dogs | | | | large animals as pets, and untold numbers of work |
| existed by 4500 BC. Illustrations of dogs, dating from | | | | horses, tragically, were slaughtered. |
| the Bronze Age, have been found on walls, tombs, and | | | | Thankfully, horses, not unlike dogs and cats, are now |
| scrolls throughout the Middle East, Europe, and North | | | | being recognized for their giftedness in helping humans |
| America. Often the dogs are pictured hunting alongside | | | | on a more personal level. Organizations are pairing |
| their human companions. In ancient Egypt, dogs--like | | | | horses with people--both kids and adults--with special |
| cats--were pampered and revered, and only royalty | | | | needs, to the benefit of both. Generally, the horses |
| was allowed to own purebred dogs. | | | | used in therapeutic horseback riding programs are |
| Perhaps humans and canines discovered a potential | | | | "senior" horses, who otherwise might be put out to |
| partnership when dogs would scavenge near humans' | | | | pasture (or worse). Individuals with a wide range of |
| campsites, and the humans learned that the dogs | | | | physical, mental, and behavioral challenges gain |
| offered protection, as well as help in hunting, in | | | | self-esteem and discipline as well as balance, posture, |
| exchange for a share of their food. | | | | and strength. Further, it has been discovered that a |
| Through the ages, dogs have been bred and trained to | | | | horse's walking motion closely resembles that of |
| help people with hunting, herding, sporting, and countless | | | | humans, and that riding a horse can stimulate a |
| types of work, in addition to companionship. | | | | person's nervous system to duplicate that motion. A |
| Since then, dogs have been taught to provide an | | | | disabled person might actually learn to walk by riding a |
| incredible variety of services to humans. While guide | | | | horse. |
| dogs for the blind are not a new thing--a blind | | | | People in prison and in programs for troubled youth are |
| Germanic king supposedly had one in 100 BC, and a | | | | often given the job of rehabilitating retired racehorses |
| wall painting in Pompeii depicts a blind man being led by | | | | and abused dogs. These people not only save animals' |
| a dog--it was not until after World War I that a | | | | lives; they return to the outside world with both career |
| systematic school for guide dogs was established. | | | | skills and social skills. Companion animals are an |
| Now we have hearing dogs for the deaf and service | | | | invaluable gift to mankind, and Gandhi was right: "The |
| dogs who assist disabled people in a variety of ways. | | | | greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its |
| As with the nursing home visitors, the animals used in | | | | animals are treated. |