Dogs were undoubtedly the first animals to become domesticated and have been the closest companions to human beings since the Stone Age. This book illuminates and explores this long association, as seen through the art and artifacts that express and celebrate it. The book opens with an engaging exploration of the evolution of the species, its earliest interaction with human communities and its domestication, its importance in human history and culture, and its role in art, symbolism and mythology. This is followed by comparisons and contrasts from different cultures, highlighting similarities and differences in the way that dogs have been perceived and depicted.The wide-ranging illustrations include not only domestic dogs but also dramatic portraits of wolves, foxes and jackals. From life-size sculpture to tiny engraved gems, mosaic floors to miniature paintings, ceramic vessels to pocket-knife handles, these thought-provoking illustrations span prehistory to the present, illuminating this most familiar and important relationship.