How Dogs Became Our Best Friends

A leading scientist explains why they are uniquely suited to be our companions

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 If Dogs Could Talk. 

Relationships between people and dogs have spawned a myriad of fascinating stories, not least because the association is so improbable. Just take a look at your dog or at any dog in your neighborhood. Would you expect these creatures to be humanity's best friends? They look very different from us. They behave very differently. They do not seem to have an affinity for culture. And they cannot speak a single word. Yet most people in Western cultures regard dogs as members of the family in the truest sense. And now behavioral science is starting to reveal how this friendship came to be.

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