"Dogs leave paw prints on our hearts."
— Anatole France
"In the beginning, God created Man, but seeing his weakness, he gave him the dog."
— Alphonse Toussenel
"The dog has rarely succeeded in elevating man to the level of his own fineness, but man has frequently lowered the dog to his."
— James Thuber
"A dog is not almost human, and there is no greater insult to canine kind than to consider it so."
— John Holmes
"Stories are full of examples that illustrate the loyalty of dogs rather than that of friends."
— Alexander Pope
"Wherever there is a miserable person, God sends a dog."
— Alphonse de Lamartine
"He will be there to comfort you, protect you, and if necessary, give his life for you. He will be faithful to you in good times and bad. Such is the dog!"
— Jerome K. Jerome
"The dog has the incredible ability to guess our thoughts and feelings."
— Brian Vesey-Fitzgerald
"To truly appreciate a dog, you must not insist on making it semi-human. Rather, consider the possibility of becoming semi-canine yourself."
— Edward Hoagland
"All I know of immortality is that many dogs I have known will go to heaven, but very few people."
— James Thuber
"An ordinary dog is far more likable than an ordinary person."
— Andrew A. Rooney
"The deep silence of dogs comforts us from the futile words of men."
— Jean Michel Chaumont
"Be the person your dog thinks you are."
— John W. Stephens
"All of the dog is in its eyes."
— Paul Valéry
"Dogs never lie when they speak of love."
— Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
"A dog couldn’t care whether you were poor or rich, educated or illiterate, smart or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his."
— John Grogan
"In my life, at my expense, I’ve learned that dogs are sometimes better than men. I have a passion for all animals, especially dogs. The dog is defenseless, asks nothing from man, but gives everything, even its life if necessary. The dog stands between the child and the angel in mind, heart, and feelings."
— Antonio De Curtis, aka Totò
"Dogs enter our lives to teach us love and loyalty; they leave to teach us loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it simply enlarges the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very large."
— Erica Jong
"Humans abandon you in the wind, a dog follows you in the storm."
— Unknown Author
"Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, filling a void we didn’t even know existed."
— Thom Jones
"There is no loyalty that does not betray at least once, except that of a dog."
— Prof. Konrad Lorenz, Nobel Prize
"To the qualities one demands of a dog, do you know many masters worthy of being adopted?"
— Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
"We do not have one heart for humans and another for animals; we have a heart or we do not."
— Alphonse de Lamartine
"A good man is ashamed even in front of a dog."
— Anton Chekhov
"The dog has only one purpose in life: to offer its heart."
— Joe Randolph Ackerley
"Dogs have only one flaw: they believe in humans."
— Elian-Joseph Finber
"The admiration your dog has for you proves nothing about your worthiness."
— Ann Landers
"What sadder fate for a dog than to belong to no one."
— Paul Claudel
"A life without a dog is a mistake."
— Carl Zuckmayer
"The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog."
— Ambrose Bierce
"If I could be half of my dog, I would be twice the man I am."
— Charles Yu
"Look into your dog's eyes and you cannot say he has no soul."
— Victor Hugo
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened."
— Anatole France
"Gratitude is a disease of the dog that is not transmissible to humans."
— Antoine Bernheim
"The dog is man’s sixth sense."
— Christian Friedrich Hebbel
"The dog is a gentleman. I hope to go to his heaven, not man’s."
— Mark Twain
"Dogs speak, but only to those who know how to listen."
— Orhan Pamuk
"Saving a dog won’t change the world, but for that dog, the world will change forever."
— Karen Davison
"I distrust people who dislike dogs. On the other hand, I trust a dog who dislikes a person."
— Bill Murray
"The world would be a better place if everyone could love as unconditionally as a dog."
— M.K. Clinton
"Thorns may hurt you, men may abandon you, light may be veiled; but you will never be without a friend if you have a dog."
— Douglas Malloch
"Through dogs we pay tribute to love, and to its possibility. What is a dog, if not a love machine?"
— Michel Houellebecq
"A dog’s friendship is undoubtedly more lively and constant than man’s."
— Michel de Montaigne
"No matter how little money or possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich."
— Louis Sabin
"Love in a dog’s heart is the greatest love there is."
— Renaud Séchan
"All I know, I learned from dogs."
— Nora Roberts
"Everyone thinks they have the best dog. And everyone is right."
— W.R. Purche
"A dog’s greatest fear is that you will not return when they see you leave without them."
— Stanley Coren
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
— Roger Caras
"We don’t have to earn their trust or friendship; they are born our friends. Eyes still closed, they already believe in us."
— Maurice Maeterlinck
"My fashion philosophy: if you aren’t covered in dog hair, your life is empty."
— Elayne Boosler
"Only my dogs won’t betray me."
— Maria Callas
"I love dogs with a very old and very faithful tenderness. I love them because they always forgive."
— Albert Camus
"The eyes of an animal have the power to speak an extraordinary language."
— Martin Buber
"If you spend time with animals, you may become a better person."
— Oscar Wilde
"The best place to bury a good dog is in his owner’s heart."
— Ben Hur Lampman
"He possesses beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices."
— George Gordon Byron
"Dogs die. But dogs also live. Until their last breath, they live. They lead brave and magnificent lives. They protect their family. They love us. And they make our lives a little brighter. And they don’t waste time fearing tomorrow."
— Dan Gemeinhart
"If having a soul means being capable of feeling love, loyalty, and gratitude, then animals are better off than many humans."
— James Herriot
"Dogs are our link to paradise. They know neither evil, nor jealousy, nor discontent. Sitting with a dog on a hill on a beautiful afternoon is returning to the Garden of Eden, where doing nothing was not boring, but a source of peace."
— Milan Kundera
"Who is easier to love, man or dog? And who returns our love better? The question is awkward. Or rather its answer, because it does not flatter us. Compared to these faithful animals, beautiful without vanity, courageous without cruelty, we appear arrogant, forgetful, and ungrateful."
— Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
I look at my dog, and I see something pure, something real. He doesn't care about the bullshit of the world, doesn't get caught up in all the drama. He's just there, living in the moment, wagging his tail like it's the best day ever. There's a simplicity to it, a kind of wisdom. we've all lost somewhere along the way. He doesn't ask for much, just a bit of food, a scratch behind the ears, and a place to lay his head. In return, he gives unconditional loyalty, love without strings. It makes me wonder where we went wrong, complicating everything with our doubts, our fears, our endless need for more. I look at my dog and think, maybe he's got it figured out. Maybe it's us who need to learn a thing or two from him.
— R.M. Drake
Bring in the muddy dog. Too bad for those who like neither dogs nor mud. Bring in the dog completely covered in mud. Too bad for those who don’t like mud, who don’t understand, who don’t know the dog, who don’t know the mud. Bring in the dog and let him shake. You can wash the dog, and you can wash the water too. You cannot wash those who say they love dogs only if… The muddy dog is clean. The mud is clean. The water is sometimes clean too. Those who say “only if…” They are not clean. Absolutely not.
— Jacques Prévert
When I am old and gray, and my steps have become slow, I may not hear very well, I may not see very well. But my love for you will be the same, my devotion to you will be the same, my regard for you will be the same. My heart and soul are grateful for all you have done and will do when I am old and gray.
— Bridget Willoughby
Even if he were the ugliest dog in the world, I would still love him because of his eyes. Even if I were the ugliest old man in the world, love would still shine in the depths of his eyes. And we would both, he so ugly, I so old, be a little less alone in the world because of his eyes.
— Pierre Menanteau
My dog left at dawn for the mysterious place from which one does not return. He was my companion, my lifelong friend, and like humans, he knew death. The house is now without him. He rests in the forest under the yellowed leaves. Never again his welcome, his tender and gentle gaze, his joyful barks, his slightly crazy love! I will always keep the moving memory of this charming and forever lost friend. And I understand very well that we love our dogs when many humans, alas, are almost worthless.
— Christian Chabellard
She stays lying down without barking since the morning. She is an old dog, at the evening of her destiny. She is tired of barking, of getting upset… Tall and red, like a lioness, she remains lying, motionless, not moving, and watches silently, without growling, a jackdaw that came to sit near her. And this jackdaw is not fooled: he drinks the dog’s soup from her bowl. “Why don’t you say anything?” they shout at her. She doesn’t even feel like barking a little since this morning. Sleep takes her… The dog sleeps. She dreams of her youth: she is still a puppy, and everyone shouts: “But be quiet already! You’re barking at the little jackdaws again!”
— Agnia Barto
If you fear you have given me too few caresses, know that I have forgotten none. If you regret scolding me even once, know that I don’t even remember it. If you think you left me alone too long, know that I have always waited for you. If you fear you spent too little time with me, know that even that little time I savored every moment. If you think you played too little with me, know that I never counted the times you threw the ball. If you think you forgot your scent, know that even now I feel it in the wind. If you wish to be reborn in another life, know that I would want to be your puppy again in that one. If you believe you have flaws, know that for me you have always been perfect. If you think love can have an end, know that in my heart, love is infinite. If you think you have regrets toward me, know that I would not change a single second of the life I spent with you. If you think I no longer hear your voice when you call me, trust the evening breeze to carry your words. If you think I have forgotten your face, know that I have lived only to enjoy your gaze. If you believe I could have loved someone more than you, know that I loved you more than myself. If you think I would have liked a soft sofa, know that with you I would have slept on stones. If you think I wanted more than what you gave me, know that I have always felt like the happiest puppy in the world. If you have ever felt lonely, know that I never left my place by your side. If you think my life was too short, know that I would not have lived a minute more without being by your side. If you fear I am no longer near you, know that as soon as you close your eyes, I fall asleep by your side. If you think you didn’t make the right decision, know that I have always trusted you. Always. If you dream of seeing me again one day, know that I will be there, waiting for you. As I always have."
— Emanuele Grandi
TO MY DOG. He was nothing but a dog, I was nothing but a human, and we were friends. Since he left, I miss a friend to welcome me in the evening and help me believe in the worth of life. He told me nothing because he was just a dog; I gave him nothing because I was just a human; but he accepted everything, the good and the bad, keeping only the good because he was just a dog. To have a friend as faithful as him, I only need a dog who will give me everything, asking nothing, and helping me only to be human.
— Lucien Pelissier
Better than all the gold in the world, better than diamonds, better than pearls, better than anything material, is the love of a dog, and the joy it brings.
— Laura Jaworski
