Kitty Whitehurst

“You may not agree, you may not care, but
if you are holding this book you should know that of all the sights I love in this world — and there are plenty — very near the top of the list is this one: dogs without leashes.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

“A dog can never tell you what she knows from the
smells of the world, but you know, watching her,
that you know
almost nothing.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

“Be prepared. A dog is adorable and noble.
A dog is a true and loving friend. A dog
is also a hedonist.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

“And it is exceedingly short, his galloping life. Dogs die so soon. I have my stories of that grief, no doubt many of you do also. It is almost a failure of will, a failure of love, to let them grow old—or so it feels. We would do anything to keep them with us, and to keep them young. The one gift we cannot give.”
― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems