Andrew Hale, cuts matted hair away from his dog's ears in Campbell, Tex. in September 2007. The Hale family have eight children and run an organic farm. Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters
Taryn Tagtmeir (l.) takes her family's French Mastiff 'Darco' for a walk during a preview for the 133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York in February 2009. Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko smile during a photo session with their pet dog Yuri, at their Togu Palace residence in Tokyo in November 2011. Imperial Household Agency of Japan/Reuters
A child and a puppy relax together on a summer day in South Russell, Ohio in July 2004. Amy Sancetta/AP
Bolivian children chat while they hold their dogs inside a tent in a refugee field in Santa Cruz, east of La Paz in February 2006. David Mercado/Reuters
Adopted, but not accepted? The Logar family, of the small village of Podvr in central Slovenia, adopted this three-and-a-half-month-old brown bear cub after it strolled into their yard. Medo, as they named it, plays with the Logar, the family dog, who looks less than happy about the new addition to the family. The photo was taken in June 2011 – how big Medo is today, probably bears heavily on Logar's mood. Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters
All yawns aside, Jade and Lou are rough and ready cattle dogs who accompany Paul Perner on his rounds at the on the Pecos River Ranch in November 2003. A sizable West Texas ranch has been passed down through Mr. Perner's family since it was established in 1881. Robert Harbison/Staff
Who's leading who? Bo, the Obama family's Portuguese water dog, pulls Malia Obama – followed by the president and her sister Sasha – across the South Lawn of the White House in April 2009. Ron Edmonds/AP
A barn cat is pals with Buddy the dog, a stray who was adopted by the Vargson family, in Granville Summit, Pa. The Vargsons have more than 20 cats - many of whom were dumped on the property. March 2012. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Felix Omondi, with his dog now named Mkombozi (Saviour) in a compound on the outskirts of Nairobi, May 2005, after he was treated and washed by medics from Kenya Society for the Protection and care for Animals. The nursing dog foraging for food retrieved an abandoned baby girl in a forest and carried the infant to its litter of puppies. Sayyid Azim/AP
Chassis, a Siberian husky, broke loose from her chain on New Year's Day 2012 near Duluth, Minn. and was found safe seven weeks later 300 miles away. After being reunited with his family – Teresa Musel and her children Mia and Mason – in February 2012, they all took a walk near their home outside Duluth. Bob King/The Duluth News-Tribune/AP
On the road together, a young girl and her dog look out from a packed vehicle as her family flee a military offensive in the Pakistani tribal region of South Waziristan in October 2009. Ijaz Muhammad/AP
Then-President Gerald R. Ford (l.), daughter Susan (c.) and his wife, Betty, walked with their dog Liberty at the presidential retreat Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland in August 1976. David Hume Kennerly/Courtesy Gerald R. Ford Library/Reuters
Charlie, the dog, waits his turn to play with the dreidel as his owers (from left) Lila and Louisa Caplan celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with the tradition al toy in their Swampscott, Mass. home in December 2010. Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
First Dog -- and descendant of another First Dog – Spot plays in the Rose Garden of the White House in April 2001. The English springer spaniel, President George Bush's dog, is one of the offspring of Millie, who was First Dog in the 1989-1992 White House of George H.W. and Barbara Bush. Andy Nelson/Staff
A study of dog breeds in the Americas indicates that they migrated along with humans from East Asia, and that their genetic legacy has persisted to the present.
When Christopher Columbus arrived in Cuba in 1492, he took note of the indigenous domesticated dogs, which the Taíno people called aon. The aon did not bark; according to Columbus, they just whistled, howled, and chortled.
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