World’s Largest and Smallest Dogs Meet—And Illustrate Biblical Truth

Reggie, the world’s tallest living dog, is a 3'4" Great Dane. Pearl, the world’s shortest living dog, is a 3.6" chihuahua. She’s the size of a dollar bill and is absolutely dwarfed by the gangly Reggie. Now, why am I reporting on this “feel good” dog story?

Well, it’s a great example of variety within a kind!

God created life to reproduce “according to their kinds” (Genesis 1:24).

You see, both dogs are part of the same kind—the dog (or canid) kind. God created life to reproduce “according to their kinds” (Genesis 1:24). So one kind will only produce more of its kind (e.g., dogs produce dogs). But there’s a massive amount of variety within a kind.

Consider that all of today’s domesticated dogs—from massive Great Danes to miniscule chihuahuas—descended from the pair of dogs that Noah took on the ark with him. You see, Noah didn’t have to take two Great Danes, two chihuahuas, two poodles, two coyotes, two dingoes, two wolves, and so on onto the ark with him. In other words, he didn’t need two of every species or breed. He only needed two representatives of the dog kind.

God created each kind with maximum genetic diversity so they could adapt to an ever-changing world. This is why there are different species (or breeds for domesticated animals) of the same kinds all around the world. This ability to adapt using already existing genetic variation allows members of the dog kind to thrive in the frigid Canadian arctic, the dusty deserts of Australia, the savannas of Africa, and suburban homes across America!

But the limit to this change (or variety) is within a kind. One kind will never turn into another kind as evolution requires (e.g., a dog won’t become a cat, and a dinosaur won’t become a bird). This biblical principle of variety within a kind is confirmed by observational science. There is no known naturalistic mechanism that can create brand-new functioning genetic information! All of the variety within kinds that we observe is based on already existing genetic information.

I have found that many people just don’t understand the concept of kind versus species, which is why they are confused as to how Noah could have fit all the land animals needed on the ark. Once they understand kinds, it’s like a light bulb goes off in their heads and they get it! It’s an important teaching point.

And yes, even a funny story about two dogs can be used to illustrate biblical and scientific truth!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.