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All dogs are
probably descended from an animal called
Tomarctus.
This animal lived approximately 15 million
years ago.
Stone-aged people tamed dogs to
help them track game. About eight thousand
years ago, ancient Egyptians raised Saluki
hunting dogs. Saluki is an arabic word meaning
noble one. These dogs are probably the oldest
known breed.
Argos or Argus, Ulysses' hunting
dog, was the only creature to recognize the
Greek hero when he returned home disguised as a
beggar after 20 years of adventure.
Cerberus, the three-headed dog
of Greek mythology, guarded the gates to the
underworld.
Laika became the world's first
space traveler. Russian scientists sent the
small animal aloft in an artificial earth
satellite in 1957.
The basenji, an African wolf
dog, is the only dog that cannot bark.
Irish Wolfhounds rank as the
largest dog, and Chihuahuas as the smallest
dog. The St. Bernard is the heaviest dog and
other breeds range in size between these
extremes.
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STOCK PHOTO
A dog can hear sounds 250 yards
away that most people cannot hear beyond 25
yards. The human ear can detect sound waves
vibrating at frequencies up to 20,000 times a
second. But dogs can hear sound waves that
vibrate at frequencies of more than 30,000
times a second.
Dogs cannot see as well as
humans and are considered color blind. A dog
sees objects first by their movement, second by
their brightness, and third by their shape.
A dog's heart beats between 70
and 120 times a minute, compared with a human
heart which beats 70 to 80 times a minute.
A female carries her young about
60 days before the puppies are born.
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