Maryann Gillespel, age 11, of Spokane, Wash., for her question:

IS THE DOG A NATIVE AMERICAN?

All dogs are probably descended from an animal called Tomarctus. This animal lived about 15 million years ago and probably looked much like a wolf. The descendants developed into coyotes, foxes and other wild dogs.

Stone age people tamed dogs more than 20,000 years ago. About 8,000 years ago the ancient Egyptians raised greyhound like dogs to hunt antelope.

The dog is a native North American, too. American Indians tamed dogs as early as 4,000 years ago.

The various breeds of dogs gradually became fixed in size, color and ability to perform certain tasks. And they were found in all parts of the world.