Humanity's Best Friend: A Dog-Centric Approach to Addressing Global Challenges

• Published in: Animals
• Main Authors: Sykes, Naomi, Karlsson, Elinor K., Larson, Greger
• Other Authors: Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Strategic Development Goals; dog domestication; sustainable development; Animal Sciences; Animal Studies; Biology; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Environmental Policy; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10030502; https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/41396; https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5196&context=oapubs&unstamped=1; https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/oapubs/4177

Full author list omitted for brevity. For the full list of authors, see article. No other animal has a closer mutualistic relationship with humans than the dog (Canis familiaris). Domesticated from the Eurasian grey wolf (Canis lupus), dogs have evolved alongside humans over millennia in a relationship that has transformed dogs and the environments in which humans and dogs have co-inhabited. The story of the dog is the story of recent humanity, in all its biological and cultural complexity. By exploring human-dog-environment interactions throughout time and space, it is possible not only to understand vital elements of global history, but also to critically assess our present-day relationship with the natural world, and to begin to mitigate future global challenges. In this paper, co-authored by researchers from across the natural and social sciences, arts and humanities, we argue that a dog-centric approach provides a new model for future academic enquiry and engagement with both the public and the global environmental agenda.