Domestication vs. taming

[Catherine]

That is an interesting article about the domesticated foxes.  It fits how I pictured domestication of other animals happening.

Back in prehistory when we were just starting to live with animals we would have kept the friendlier ones. The wild ones would have left us. Each generation would have been tamer and more suited to life with humans. I think the selection was on both sides. We wanted to keep the friendly ones and the friendly ones wanted to be with us. We were becoming more domesticated too so the taming was multi species at the same time. I think dogs and cats have grown with us as we have grown more civilized.

They have been able to imitate the process with foxes, but I wonder what will happen to the foxes now. They trust us and are dependent on us. We owe them a good life because we created them in the first place.

Quote:I know the wolf dogs were sold to people who either wanted to breed from them, or who had a romantic notion about 'getting close to the wild', or what they would look like walking a 'Timber Wolf' (as she looked like one). I prayed she would find a happy place with someone who understood.

I could picture Misty not liking a wolf dog. She would sense the wildness of the dog. Breeding them doesn't seem like a good idea. They are not happy in captivity. They just tolerate it.
It is a silly romantic notion, thinking that you can run with a wolf companion. They are still a wild animal and few of them are happy in captivity. Even the word captivity says it all.

Domestic animals are not captive. They live with us. That is why it is so very cruel to dump a domestic animal in the wild.
We have obligations to domestic animals.