Ten great quotes about dogs
Monday, April 19 2010
Dogs are known as man's best friend, and the abundance of famous (and not so famous) quotations regarding our furry companions is testament to their popularity as pets.
10. "I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better. They fight for honour at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvellous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying." So said American writer George Bird Evans in his book Troubles with Bird Dogs. The author also used to breed dogs and established a line of English setters. He died in 1998 at the age of 91 having inspired many with his writings on working gun dogs.
9. "Here, gentlemen, a dog teaches us a lesson in humanity." Napoleon Bonaparte uttered this after falling overboard from his ship and being saved by a Newfoundland. The commander of the French forces did not know how to swim, but the devoted animal managed to keep him above the waves before he was rescued. The course of history may have changed completely if one dog had not followed his master into the sea to save him.
Another dog had a profound impact on Napoleon's life. As the French commander surveyed a battleground after the fighting had stopped, he watched a pet dog lick the face of its dead master, stopping every so often to howl at the sky. He reportedly said that the image of the dog's grief haunted him for the rest of his life.
8. "The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs." Charles de Gaulle, the famous French general, is reported to have made this comment, which has since been adopted by other people. Gloria Allred, the American feminist lawyer, also said a variation of the quote.
7. "A cat, after being scolded, goes about its business. A dog slinks off into a corner and pretends to be doing a serious self-reappraisal." Robert Brault, an American poet and freelance writer, made this canny comment on one of the many differences between fickle felines and devoted dogs.
6. "Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend." The nineteenth-century American humorist Corey Ford, a member of the 1930s literary circle the Algonquin Round Table, turned the relationship of pet owner to dog on its head.
5. "If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them." Author Phil Pastoret commented on the extraordinary ability dogs have to seek out their favourite treats.
4. "Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog." American author and humorist Franklin P. Jones summed up the laborious process of cleaning pet dogs that like to roll around in mud in search of that elusive smell. Journalist Ambrose Bierce also commented: "The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog."
3. "Dachshunds are ideal dogs for small children, as they are already stretched and pulled to such a length that the child cannot do much harm one way or the other." Newspaper columnist and actor Robert Benchley, another member of the Algonquin Round Table, chalked up many quotes about dogs in his lifetime, including: "A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down."
2. "If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat." It is unknown who said this, but it sums up perfectly the age-old enmity dogs and cats supposedly feel for each other.
1. "Our dog chases people on a bike. We've had to take it off him." Former British prime minister Winston Churchill was a noted dog fan, who after the death of his poodle Rufus named its successor Rufus II - "but the II is silent". According to Churchill's biographer, the stateman's family was not allowed to eat their meal until his dog had been served by the butler.