Dogs & Doggerel & Some Pretty Good Poetry, Too

Dogs

It’s no secret how much I like dogs–almost as much as I like spy stuff. Go figure! In case you like dogs, too, here are some cool dog facts: Did you know that dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors? Those are the things in their noses that help them to identify smells. Compare that to humans, who have a mere six million of those receptors. And dog noses are designed so that they inhale and exhale through different places in their nose, so they can keep those smells coming in all the time. The part of their brain that analyzes smell is forty times bigger than the part of the human brain that has the same function. Dogs can be trained to identify the smell of some kinds of diseases in humans, and can even tell, by the smell, when someone with epilepsy is about to have a seizure. Dogs definitely have super schnozzes. Dogs come in all shapes and sizes. The American Kennel Club recognizes 190 different breeds, from affenpinscher to Yorkshire terrier (are there any breeds of dog that start with the letter “z”?) and of course there are also dogs that are mixes of other breeds. In my opinion, those mutts are some of the best dogs! There are over 500 million dogs in the world, and counting. Did you know that dogs don’t just bark and growl? They can make lots of other sounds to communicate. Dogs are good for your health. You can lower your blood pressure just by petting a dog. Plus, they’re cute!

Doggerel

According to the Poetry Foundation, doggerel is “Bad verse traditionally characterized by clichés, clumsiness, and irregular meter. It is often unintentionally humorous.” According to Merriam-Webster, the word comes from the Middle English word dogerel, probably a diminutive of dogge, which is the word for dog. I wonder if they coined that word because they thought dogs were clumsy or unintentionally humerous? What do you think? But it’s a great word and it sounds like dog, and it’s a good way to seque from dogs to poetry.

Poetry About Dogs

Here’s my favorite, from British poet Alexander Pope. Apparently, Pope gave a dog to the Prince of Wales in 1738 and had these lines inscribed on the dog’s collar:

I am his Highness’ dog at Kew, Pray tell me sir, whose dog are you?

And here’s another great dog poem, by Ogden Nash:

The Dog The truth I do not stretch or shove When I state the dog is full of love. I’ve also proved, by actual test, A wet dog is the lovingest.

And there’s this dog poem, by Arthur Guiterman:

Motto For a Dog I love this little house because It offers after dark, A pause for rest, a rest for paws, A place to moor my bark.

Poetry Not About Dogs

I’m Nobody by Emily Dickinson I’m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there’s a pair of us–don’t tell! They’d banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!

Ogden Nash wrote many great poems about animals. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Firefly The firefly’s flame Is something for which science has no name. I can think of nothing eerier Than flying around with an unidentified glow on a person’s posterior.

The Termite Some primal termite knocked on wood And tasted it, and found it good, And that is why your Cousin May Fell through the parlor floor today.

The Ostrich The ostrich roams the great Sahara. Its mouth is wide, its neck is narra. It has such long and lofty legs, I’m glad it sits to lay its eggs.

The Panther The panther is like a leopard, Except it hasn’t been peppered. Should you behold a panther crouch, Prepare to say Ouch. Better yet, if called by a panther, Don’t anther.