>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]