>Bob, somewhat like a dog, but very much like many apes and monkeys, is
>an "omnivore", which means he can eat everything and thrive.
 
Dogs, cats and ferrets are all carnivores.  It is true that all three
can also eat food from non-animal based sources, why is why ferrets can
survive on kibbles with 50% or more grain.
 
A dog may pick an apple off a tree and choose to eat it, but that doesn't
mean it is an omnivore.  Just as choosing to eat crayons doesn't make it
a crayon-ivore :)
 
I think an animal can only thrive when given the food it's system is
designed for, not what it is willing to accept as food.
 
Some interesting DNA stuff:
 
  Dogs are indeed wolves.  They differ at most by .02% of MITOCHONDRIAL
  DNA.  By cellular DNA they are indistinguishable, UNLIKE humans and
  chimps which differ by cellular DNA by something like 3%.  This is a
  huge difference.  Dogs have long been classified as a subspecies of
  wolf and their correct scientific classification is Canis lupus
  familiaris.  Other wolf subspecies include The Arctic wolf, Canis
  lupus arctos, and the Mexican wolf, Canis lupus baileyi.
 
[ Wayne, Robert K., "Molecular Evolution of the Dog." Theoretical and
Applied Genetics.  9, 6 (June 1993) 1-33, and
Wilson, D.E.  and D.A.M.  Reeder.  Mammal Species of the World: A
Taxonomic and Geographic Reference.  Washington D.C.: Smithsonian
Institution and American Society of Mammalogists, 1993.  ]
 
shona
[Posted in FML issue 4708]