{ CAPITAL LETTERS } ON ALL FOURS The ruff draft

Dog-tired, gone to the dogs, dog-eat-dog ... given how long we have lived side-by-side with canines, with evidence indicating that they may have become domesticated more than 15,000 years ago, it is no wonder that our language is full of references to these beloved animals.

- Adam Jacot de Boinod

Many of my favourite such phrases are reminders of how this relationship has evolved. It wasn't always one of pampered indolence, for instance.

That's where we get "a dog's life", in fact. The earliest recorded use of this term dates to the 16th century, a time when these animals were still used for activities ranging from heavy-duty transport to security (particularly to guard valuable livestock) and arduous chases during hunts. (This is also where we get the term "dog tired".)

It says something about our emotional connection with these animals that, even then, the sense that they were being put upon and were suffering seeped into our language; a language that has made little room for such sentiment when it comes to the many other animals we use, eat, exploit or leave homeless.