„… The dog friend, always with us
with his sincere tail that is of the heart,
and his transparent eyes in which the infant of the soul is. ”
Ionel Teodoreanu
No connection between man and another species has been so much honored, studied, commented on as that between man and dog. The first domesticated animal, the dog linked its fate to that of man to such an extent that its behavior and even its physiology have changed significantly, due to its long evolution with the human species.
Over time, dogs have taken part in many notable events. Rescue operations, space missions, evidence of courage were played by the dogs.
Romfilatelia introduces into circulation, on Friday, June 11, 2021, the issue of postage stamps The Dog, a friend of man, consisting of four stamps and an envelope “first day”. The four stamps of the series, with nominal values of 2 lei, 2.20 lei, 5.50 lei and 19.50 lei, present aspects of the interaction between man and dog, the latter appearing in different poses: practical human help ( as a companion for the blind or people with motor disabilities), but also a simple affectionate friend of children.
The domestication of the dog took place at least 15,000 years ago, before the advent of agriculture, when people still lived as hunter-gatherers. Dogs are descended from wolves, but not from current wolves, as is often believed. The history of the dog’s evolution is long and complicated, requiring laborious research, including molecular and genetic analysis, to elucidate some issues. As in any such situation, there are different scientific opinions, but a widely accepted theory holds that the dog’s closest relative is the gray wolf that lives in Eurasia and North America (the wolf species that exists in our country). the two species descending from a common ancestor. The dog (Canis familiaris) and the gray wolf (Canis lupus) broke away from this ancestor about 30,000 years ago, starting on different evolutionary paths, and continue to evolve divergently to this day.
In many ways, the dog is an extraordinary species. One of its most interesting features is the great variability, manifested by the existence of about 450 breeds. At first glance, a Maltese bichon does not look much like an Italian greyhound and yet both breeds come from the same ancestor who, 30 millennia ago, broke away from the wolf, embarking on its own evolutionary path. It is also remarkable that most current breeds have appeared in a short time, in the last two centuries, by artificial selection, as a result of human effort to obtain certain traits.
The relationship between man and dog is complex and takes on many aspects. Dogs can be trained to perform a variety of roles: accompanying and helping people with disabilities, rescuing victims of natural disasters, detecting explosives, drugs and other dangerous substances, tracking and catching criminals, guarding and gathering herds of animals, helping people to hunting and fishing, traction of vehicles, etc. In its long evolution with humans, the dog has acquired a particular sensitivity to his emotions and behavior, which makes possible an effective communication between the two species, and this communication, in turn, facilitates training and explains the sometimes amazing performance of dogs. in these activities.
But, beyond these practical aspects, the dog remains, first of all, a friend of man, and his attachment to man remains the purest expression of fidelity, affection and devotion.
