Dogs have been our best friends from the Pleistocene to the present day -- from the mysterious healing dogs of ancient Rome who were reputed to cure with a lick of the tongue, to the canine conquistadors who helped claim the New World, to the American doggie paratroopers of World War Il. In this spirited and comprehensive historical account, anthropologist Mary Elizabeth Thurston draws on ancient artifacts, engravings, archival documents and historical and contemporary photographs to dramatize the evolution of the human-dog relationship throughout the ages.Exhaustively researched and packed with fascinating lore, The Lost History of the Canine Race is also chock-full of photos and illustrations (weird poodle haircuts are only the tip of the iceberg ). An essential addition to every dog lover's bookshelf, it is destined to take its place beside such bestselling paperback classics as Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's The Hidden Life of Dogs and Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs.