housed adjacent to a young female American red fox (Vulpes vulpes) that had been born about the same time as the coyote. Eight months later the two animals were put in the same cage and were compatible. During the first and second weeks of February 1973, the animals were seen to mate and on April 9, 1973, the vixen gave birth to two male pups. They were left with the female who began to ignore them on April 12. One was found dead that morning. The second pup was removed and hand fed, but died the evening of April 12 "probably due to congestion and exposure" according to Dr. Ernest Zirkle, the zoo's veterinarian. Judging from photographs I have seen of the parents, there seems no reason to doubt their identification, nor does the appearance of the cage suggest entry by a local wild Vulpes male. The pups were preserved and are in the possession of Mr. Ricci and Dr. Zirkle.
- Haveman, H. Dogs take a lead over children. CNN International. Posted on cnn.com March 5, 2004, accessed November 15, 2011.
- Pendragon, B. 2011. A review of selected features of the family Canidae with reference to its fundamental taxonomic status. Journal of Creation. 25 (3): 79-88.
- Ahlfort, K. Genetic Study Confirms: First Dogs Came from East Asia. Royal Institute of Technology news release, November 23, 2011.
- The American Kennel Club lists over 235 breeds, 173 of which are eligible to compete at AKC events. See the Complete Breed List posted on akc.org.
- Leach, H. R. 2007. Selection and the Unforeseen Consequences of Domestication. In Cassidy, R. and M. H. Mullin, eds. Where the wild things are now: domestication reconsidered. Oxford, UK: Berg, 72-73.
- Trut, L., I. Oskina and A. Kharlamova. 2009. Animal evolution during domestication: the domesticated fox as a model. Bioessays. 31 (3): 349-360.
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
Cite this article: Thomas, B. 2012. On the Origin of Dogs. Acts & Facts. 41 (1): 16.