Dear Joe:

Theologically, when Adam and Eve committed the Original Sin all of nature fell. We thus live in a fallen world that includes suffering, natural disasters, and such. Suffering is, therefore, part of nature for all creatures, Man and animals. It is part of life and it has its purpose for life.

The Catechism states at paragraph 400: Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man (Gen 3:17,19). Because of man, creation is now subject "to its bondage to decay" (Rom 8:21).

After the Fall, from a theological point-of-view, the balance of nature is dependent upon suffering. A lion, for example, preys upon the weak and sick antelope. Thus, even parasites have a purpose in that natural balance as they can weaken the prey that lions need to eat and live. Early humans would not have survived if it were not for weakened and sick animals since the weak and sick are easier prey. We owe our existence today to the fact that parasites, illness, and suffering exists among animals. It is all part of nature and life.

As for dogs, man did not create dogs. God created all things. Animals are a result of the evolutionary process. Dog are decendent from Canis lupus -- the Grey Wolf. What man did is to domesticate the grey wolf anywhere from around 15,000 - 50,000 years ago. They did this most likely by taking puppies and raising them. Through selective breeding these wolves were bred to have the traits that were most useful (and friendly) to humans. But, while the sub-species of domestic dog and the various breeds are a result of human intervention through selective breeding, the species was created by God. The scientific classification of the domestic dog is...

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary