Poems About Dogs with Readings: Top 12 Most Popular

Dogs bring joy, humor, love, and joy to their owners. Dogs can be a constant source of inspiration to artists, sculptors, and writers. It’s easy to see how our pets can have such an impact on our lives, it’s not difficult to understand why they would inspire us.

For example, take the Dogs Playing Poker paintings. This 18-piece series of paintings by Cassius Marcellus Coolidge is immediately recognizable and loved by many. A statue of Hachiko, a Japanese dog, was built in Tokyo in the 1920s to remind people that he used to walk to the station every day to wait for his owner. Dolly Parton’s “Crackerjack”, a sentimental song about Crackerjack, her childhood friend, and a stray dog that she rescued, is called “Crackerjack”.

Writing can also be influenced and influenced by animals. Find out our top poems about dogs.

These are the 12 most popular poems about dogs

1. Rudyard Kipling’s The Power of the Dog

The Power of the Dog is an evocative poem that focuses on the special relationship we have with our dogs. It reflects on the sad fact that pets are often only with us for a brief time, but the joy and sorrow they bring to our lives in the years that follow their passing.

2. Pablo Neruda: A Dog has Died

A Dog Has Died is an emotional poem that examines the human-animal relationship as well as companionship. Neruda introduces the dog to the reader and describes how he was not overly affectionate or how he moved to his own beat. The writer ends the poem by describing how his dog was able to take in everyday things with joy and how a dog’s “shameless spirit is something that he admires.

3. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Dog

A dog might seem at first like a poem about dogs seeing the world, but if you think deeper, you will discover a more philosophically complex poem about free will and religion. Although this poem doesn’t really concern dogs, we like the imagery and the way Ferlinghetti shows the different views dogs have on the world.

4. To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

To Flush, my Dog is a 21-line poem that describes how grateful Browning was for Flush, her cocker spaniel. Browning describes Flush’s appearance (“Like a lady’s ringlets, turn thy silken ears down”) and her playful and affectionate demeanor. Browning refers to her dog as “a loving friend” and describes her loyalty.

5. Cathryn Essinger: My Dog Practices Geometry

My Dog Practices Geometry, a humorous poem that explores themes of animal and human relationships as well as writing, is called “Dog Practices Geometry”. This piece uses a lot of personification to give a dog human qualities. Personification is a poetic device that Essinger says many poets don’t like to use. It is used beautifully in this poem, which creates a beautiful image of Essinger’s dog running around her yard after animals.

6. Lord Byron’s Epitaph to a Dog

Epitaph to A Dog was dedicated to Boatswain, a Newfoundland dog who had just died from rabies. This touching tribute touches on human nature and the afterlife. Byron considers the fact that many people believe dogs’ lives are less important than human lives. He claims that dogs are “unhonourable” “unnoticed” and even “denied in Heaven.” The poem is actually written on Boatswain’s tomb, which is, ironically, larger than his owners.

7. Ellen Bass – Lost Dog

Lost Dog is a poem about what it’s like for a dog to be lost and then to have it come back to you. It explores the human-animal relationship and the close bond we have with our pets. As you can see from the title, the author’s dog is absent in the first part of the poem. Bass tells him that he eventually finds his way home and that each time she looks at him, “joy does another lap round the racetrack of mine heart”, which we believe every pet owner can relate to.

8. The Dog by Ogden Nash

Poetry does not have to be filled with poetic devices or underlying themes. The Dog is a short four-line poem. It focuses on the fact that dogs are full of love. Nash says that they are most loving when they are wet.

9. Mother Doesn’t Want a Pet by Judith Viorst

Mother Doesn’t Want A Dog is a funny look at a mother and child relationship in which the child desperately wants a dog. The mother claims that dogs can be loud, smelly, and messy. Mother is unaware that the child who is narrating this poem is about to bring home an actual snake.

10. Peter R. Wolveridge’s The Ballad of Rum

The Ballad of Rum examines the bond that a pet and a family can have. Rum was a stray who walked into the garden of the author and was welcomed as a member of his family. Rum was a stray dog who had to guard his home against cats, toads, and cattle. Rum was not the most effective guard dog for humans. He thought everyone wanted him to be his friend. Rum was happy to have company at night and ran to the burglar to get pet dogs but accidentally scared him away.

11. Billy Collins: Dharma

Dharma is an elegy that examines the meaning of life and the relationship between animals and humans. Collins reflects on how jealous he is of dogs who live their lives free from the distractions that consume so much of our time. Collins says dogs run out of the front door with no thought and “off she goes into this material world with only her brown hair.”

12. James Stewart: Beau, a Dog Called Beau

A Dog Called Beau is an affecting poem that focuses on the bond we have with our pets and how their deaths impact our lives. Stewart, an actor, and comedian wrote this poem about Beau, his golden retriever who died while Stewart was filming a movie. The poem’s opening introduces Beau and his stubborn, yet fun personality. Near the end, the poet reveals the death of his pet and how difficult it is to carry on after losing our best friend.

Last Thoughts

Many poets have taken to the pen to capture the essence and love of their pets. We are honored to bring a few of these beautiful words to you today. We hope you enjoyed the 12 poems above and were moved in some way by them.