Interesting recent paper about the domestication of dogs. Using a semicustom 185,805-marker genotyping array, a large-scale survey of autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y chromosome diversity was conducted in 4,676 purebred dogs from 161 breeds and 549 village dogs from 38 countries [NOTE: I took this from their Methods section; don't ask me about autosomal diversity or genetic markers, please].
Dogs are the first domesticated species, originating at least 15,000 years ago from Eurasian grey wolves (shown above). What the authors of this paper discovered is that the first domestication event occurred in Central Asia, probably near present-day Nepal and Mongolia. Good to know the next time you pet your dog.