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Catherine Britton

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11 Beloved Dogs From Literature (PHOTOS)

Posted: 12/21/2011 1:04 pm

As the saying goes, dogs are man's best friend. Since the Stone Age, our canine companions have been illustrated, described, dramatized, and eulogized in one form or another. "Dogs in Books" celebrates the role of over thirty dogs in literature, from Tintin's white Wire Fox Terrier Snowy, to Lassie, Toto, and Snoopy, as well as dogs from Mark Twain, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, Charles Dickens, and many more well-known authors.

Culled from the British Library's incomparable archives, "Dogs in Books" features illustrations from rare editions of classic literature and contemporary renderings from popular books. Odysseus had his faithful dog Argos and King Lear's pack of dogs barked away at him as if warning him. From narrating an entire story to rescuing our hero, these dogs are critical characters in these books, demonstrating the timelessness of our undying love and respect for dogs and proving that they have always been more than just a pet.

Aesop's Fables
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Very little is known about life of Aesop. The Greek writer Herodotus (485-25 BC) recorded that he was born a slave on the island of Samos about 620 BC. The comedies of Aristophanes (448-388 BC) refer to his fables, but both he and Herodotus were clearly describing a person who had already been dead for several hundred years.
Many of Aesop's fables featured animals and birds, often making a mistake or behaving badly and then suffering the consequences, and the fable of the greedy dog is no exception:

"A dog who was crossing a river carrying a piece of meat looked down and saw his reflection in the water. Thinking the reflection was another dog with a bigger piece of meat, the dog dropped the meat he had and jumped into the water to take the larger piece, and ended up with no meat at all."
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As the saying goes, dogs are man's best friend. Since the Stone Age, our canine companions have been illustrated, described, dramatized, and eulogized in one form or another. "Dogs in Books" celebrate...
As the saying goes, dogs are man's best friend. Since the Stone Age, our canine companions have been illustrated, described, dramatized, and eulogized in one form or another. "Dogs in Books" celebrate...
 
 
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Imago1122
Without a hurt, the heart is hollow...
04:00 PM on 01/13/2012
The novels of Jim Kjelgaard of which three "Big Red," "Irish Red," and "Outlaw Red," about Irish Setters, particularly stand out for me. I also enjoyed his "Lion Hound."

What about Dodie Smith's "The Starlight Barking" sequel to "The Hundred and One Dalmatians"?
04:37 PM on 01/05/2012
Old Yeller?
10:40 PM on 12/27/2011
"Sounder" from William Armstrong's YA novel of the same name.

Rowf and Snitter of Richard Adams's "The Plague Dogs."

The loveable "Sharik" (who, when he becomes a detestable human, goes by the name "Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov") in Mikhail Bulgakov's hilarious satire "Heart of a Dog" (much better than Orwell's "Animal Farm").
11:55 AM on 12/27/2011
Beautiful collection of "Dogs From Literature." And new for 2011 is Gareth Crocker's, "Finding Jack," about a brave dog serving in the Vietnam war. (St. Martin's, February, 2011).
06:12 PM on 12/24/2011
They forgot THE quintessential classic ... Where the Red Fern Grows. I have hounds to this day because of that book!

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http://www.fetchmasters.com
08:23 PM on 12/23/2011
Ann Beattie does surprisingly great dogs.
02:39 PM on 12/23/2011
Also Albert Payson Terhune's stories of Lad, Lady, Wolf, Treve..... But perhaps one collie (Lassie) was enough
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Read AloudDad
Simply reading the best children's books to my twi
10:51 AM on 12/23/2011
Oh ... that Toto! Puts a smile on my face, whenever I see him.

Let's not forget Tintin's Snowy too...

ReadAloudDad,com
06:12 PM on 12/22/2011
There are many dogs from non-fiction that should form another list.

One of my favorites is spaniel named Robin that accompanied famous hunter turned conservationist Jim Corbett in many of his Indian jungles adventures.

Another one is the miniature Schnauzer named Atticus in Tom Ryan's recent book 'Following Atticus'.
GraceNotes
We live for books.
05:46 PM on 12/22/2011
Buddy from Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory.
06:17 AM on 12/22/2011
Don't forget Argos, from The Odyssey -- the granddaddy of all literary dogs, and still one of the most poignant dog tales.
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billwetzel
11:13 PM on 12/21/2011
"Old Dan" and "Little Ann" from "Where The Red Fern Grows>"
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Annemarie Dooling
HuffPost Community Editor, loves cats & airports
02:48 PM on 12/22/2011
Those two had me in tears throughout middle school.
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mlaiuppa
Pres. Sarcasm Society. Like we need your approval.
07:39 PM on 12/21/2011
There are plenty of choices from contemporary literature.

The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Sheep!

A Dog's Life.

Everything for a Dog.

Almost any book by Gary Paulsen or Dean Koontz.
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mlaiuppa
Pres. Sarcasm Society. Like we need your approval.
07:37 PM on 12/21/2011
Interesting choices.
06:58 PM on 12/21/2011
um...Ribsy from Henry Huggins (Beverley Cleary)?

:-)
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frank day
Republican = FAIL
08:43 PM on 12/21/2011
That's just what I was going to post !!!
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naschkatze
A free man creates himself.
12:26 PM on 12/22/2011
Ribsy is just like one of the kids, and dogs are like that in real life. Excellent nomination.