First Friend: A History Of Dogs And Humans - Hardcover

Katharine M. Rogers helped establish the Women's Studies programs at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center. She has published six books, including The Cat and the Human Imagination, and edited four anthologies. She lives in Maryland.

Katharine M. Rogers helped establish the Women's Studies programs at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center. She has published six books, including The Cat and the Human Imagination, and edited four anthologies. She lives in Maryland.

The relationship between dogs and humans is one of the most storied in the whole of human experience from the earliest surviving myths to the present day reality, the dog has assumed a unique role in virtually every human society. Extending beyond the limits of recorded history, dogs and humans have forged and maintained the deepest of emotional bonds and the most tightly interdependent relationship.
In First Friend, Katherine M. Rogers explores the history of dogs and humans from the beginnings and follows it as it has changed and developed over the centuries, as the dog was domesticated, trained and bred for specific roles and the various breeds so well known today emerged, as the dog slowly moved from being primarily a dependable workmate to a cherished pet. From how the dog was depicted in art and literature, to exploring the myths and realities about the dog/human relationship, First Friend is a charming, compelling work, generously illustrated with images from the 7th century B.C.E. to the present day, that is sure to delight, enlighten and astonish dog-lovers the world 'round.