Dire wolf (canis duris, “fearsome, dreadful dog”)
Canis duris lived before and after homo sapiens developed and were perhaps domesticated in Neolithic times. The dire wolf’s extinction occurred about 9k years ago. Canis duris seems to have evolved in the east but it seems to have flourished in parts of Western Europe and in the Americas. As we learn from the historically accurate Game of Thrones, where canis duris is called the direwolf, direwolves are as loyal as they are vicious; smart and cunning as they are decisive and responsive with lightning speed. They would certainly be great pets today, much more efficient, pragmatic, and loyal than the incredibly overrated and by now historically insignificant felis catus.
