A quick check of our bizarre holiday calendar reveals that today is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. Who knew? And who knows why? Of course, no one appreciates dog biscuits more than dogs. So today, Poetry on Parade is going to the dogs, celebrating our four-legged, furry, faithful, frolicsome, biscuit-appreciating friends! Our first poem, from Bow Wow Meow Meow: It's Rhyming Cats and Dogs by Douglas Florian, offers a humorous summary of a dog's busy day:
Dog Log
Rolled out of bed.
Scratched my head.
Brought the mail.
Wagged my tail.
Fetched a stick.
Learned a trick.
Chased a hare.
Sat in a chair.
Chewed a shoe--
Table, too.
Got in a spat
With a cat.
Buried a bone.
Answered the phone.
Heard a thief.
Gave him grief.
Time to creep
Off to sleep.
Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, and it's important to give them names that suit their distinct personalities. Our next poems are from Name That Dog!: Puppy Poems from A to Z by Peggy Archer. The book is available at the Library of the Chathams and provides an illustrated poetic alphabet of perfectly appropriate puppy names:
A is for... Aspen
(Labrador Retriever)
Yellow Labs like taxi cabs
and golden marmalade,
butterflies and fireflies
and homemade lemonade.
Yellow hay and sunshine rays
are things she likes to lay in.
And piles of leaves from aspen trees
are what she likes to play in.
Z is for... Zipper
(Dutch Smoushond)
Running 'round the chair.
Chase the ball
down the hall.
Zipping everywhere!
Faster than a mustang.
Faster than a train.
Zip! he's here.
Zap! he's there.
Zipper is his name!
The LMC has a hot diggity dog good selection of nonfiction books discussing various dog breeds, characteristics and temperaments, proper training, and discipline methods. Stop by and fetch one: your dog, like the subject of our final poem, may have undiscovered language arts skills:
My Dog May Be a Genius
My dog may be a genius,
and in fact, there's little doubt.
He recognizes many words,
unless I spell them out.
If I so much as whisper "walk,"
he hurries off at once
to fetch his leash... it's evident
my dog is not a dunce.
I can't say "food" in front of him,
I spell f-o-o-d,
and he goes wild unless I spell
his t-r-e-a-t.
But recently this tactic
isn't working out so well.
I think my d-o-g has learned
to s-p-e-l-l.
--Jack Prelutsky
As you celebrate International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, here's an idiom worth remembering: you can't teach an old dog new tricks. But, Poetry Paraders, you may be able to create a new poem about your old cold-nosed, tail-wagging dog!
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