Reference: The Pact of Fire

Our dog thinks himself the lord of his domain (our house) and some dog gods in myth felt the same way about all creation. The universe was their divinely created off leash area. In ancient China, Taoists say the creator of the world is Pan Ku, a cosmic being formed of the cosmic Yin and Yang within a shining egg. A legend says Pan Ku, the ancestor of all mankind, was a dog. The myth, in brief, is that Pan Ku took on the form of the God of Heaven to avenge himself against an enemy god. Through cleverness, the dog Pan Ku vanquished this bad god and received his reward, the hand of the daughter of the King of Heaven. Pan Ku then transformed into a mostly human-looking being. Pan Ku and his divine bride then descended into earth and had many children, the beginning of the human race. Thus we are all half divine and half dog. This might explain why our dog sees us as fellow dogs.

Dogs are not just our creators in these myths; they also gave us the key to civilization. We have to agree. Our dog makes us more civilized for sure.

The Lakota Sioux have a legend that shows the close relationship between tribal people and dogs. The First Dog Spirit came to the First Man and Woman giving them the divine gift of puppies to help them survive. In return, said First Dog, mankind must provide food and shelter to their dog companions. This is called the pact of fire.

We love this story. It ends with the clear command to never mistreat such divine helpers. We think the Humane Society should spread this myth around.

In many forms, the Dog Spirit also helped humanity survive by stealing fire and giving it to human beings. Apache and other Native American myths claim that Coyote stole fire from the creator, gave it to the human tribes, and suffered as a result of this kindness. Maybe this is why all dogs love to sit around a fire with us. Possibly their fireside howling is their way of letting us know we are only borrowing their fire.

- Sophia and Danny Sargent, “The Book of Dog Magic: Spells, Charms & Tales”