In the 17th century, one breed of dog was created as a high-tech solution to a household need. The now-extinct turnspit dog, or Canis vertigus, was common in European kitchens from the 16th century until the mid-1800s.
Source: Saveur, January 19, 2017.
Turnspit dogs are described as “long-bodied, crooked-legged, and ugly dogs, with a suspicious, unhappy look about them. Their working task was simply to run, constantly, on an apparatus that resembled a hamster wheel. When activated, the hamster wheel would pull a set of connected ropes or chains that would then rotate a large bird, ham, or roast that was cooking over an open-fire spit.