What Poem Did 'Man's Best Friend' Come From?

Cafe Society
1

This question is for my father. According to him, the phrase “man’s best friend” (obviously referring to a dog) originated in an old poem. And he would like a copy of the poem. My father was born in the 1930s, so I’m guessing this poem originated probably in the early 20th Century. If you find this poem on the internet (I was unable to, BTW, using a brief Google search), please provide a link to the poem. (Remember copying out songs, etc. en masse on these boards is discouraged and often prohibited.)

To all those who post, thank you in advance :slight_smile: .

2

http://mathco.com/cheechwizard/animals/tribute.html

It isn’t a poem, it was a speech. See above. That’s what I was able to find, anyway.

3

Lord Byron also wrote quite a bit about his dog. Lots of quotes are attributed to him, like the “all of man’s attributes with none of his faults” stuff.

4

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”

                                - Groucho Marx
5

Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog-

“When some proud son of man returns to earth,
Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth,
The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe
And storied urns record who rest below:
When all is done, upon the tomb is seen,
Not what he was, but what he should have been:
But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his master’s own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour’d falls, unnoticed all his worth–
Denied in heaven the soul he held on earth:
While Man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive Heaven.
Oh Man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debased by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy smiles hypocrisy, thy words deceit!
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who perchance behold this simple urn,
Pass on–it honours none you wish to mourn:
To mark a Friend’s remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one,–and here he lies.”

And this-

“Near this spot
Are deposited the Remains of one
Who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity,
And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.
This Praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
If inscribed over human ashes,
Is but a just tribute to the Memory of
BOATSWAIN, a Dog,
Who was born at Newfoundland, May, 1803,
And died at Newstead Abbey, Nov. 18, 1808.”

I found both posted here-

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/3411/

I have Newfies, and Byron couldn’t have been more right about them.

6

There’s also a poem by Ogden Nash which starts “A dog is man’s best friend”. It’s only four lines long, but I’m not sure if a complete poem can be considered “fair use”, even if it is short.

7

Well, shit. I totally forgot about “fair use” and all that, and copied instead of just linking.

Am I busted now?