So we thought that the bunnies were everywhere in our thoughts and minds but they pale in comparison to man's and woman's best friend the Dog. Until we gave away the Snoopy DVDs I never really stopped to think about how dogs eclipse even bunnies in every aspect of the arts. The Chinese calendar has the year of the Dog but to us everyday is a dog day.

Lassie and Rin Tin Tin started off as literary works and made their way to radio film and then television. In literature there was everything from the Hounds of the Baskervilles to Steven King's Cujo. White Fang went from Jack London to Soupy Sales. L Frank Baum's Toto made it all the way from Judy Garland to Jeff Porcaro. 

Comic strips of course were an inspiration. Snoopy goes without saying but what about Little Orphan Annie's Dog Sandy. The Sun will come out tomorrow and when it does the dogs will follow. And where is Red Rover when you need him? And Pooch Cafe Sammy and Barfy from Family Circus Dogbert Otto from Beetlle Bailey Odie in Garfield and Marmaduke too.

The cartoons were lengendary and Walt Disney almost single handedly kept the dogs coming. Goofy and Pluto and the Lady and the Tramp. And who didn't cry at Old Yeller who was real and not a cartoon. Not to be outdone Hanna-Barbera gave us Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy not to mention Huckleberry Hound. And Astro the dog in the Jetsons was theirs too. How about Scooby Doo, Scooby Dum and Scrappy Doo too. The Simpsons' dog is Santa's Little Helper and Hang Hill's Dog is LaaaadyBird.

The movies were big with the B's like Benji and Beethoven.  Hal Roache's Little Rascals or Our Gang Comedies featured Petey the dog with the ring around his eye which later became the inspiration for the Target dog logo.  There was My Dog Skip and the Snow Dogs too.

Even or music has dogs in it. Who let the dogs out? Maybe it was Snoop dog. Paul McCartney sang about his dogs in Martha My Dear and Jet. How about Bow Wow Wow or George Clinton's Atomic Dog? Neil Young's Old King Elvis' Old Shep I had an old dog and his name was blue betcha five dollars he was a good dog too. Cat Stevens' first recorded song was I Love My Dog and Crazy Chester's dog Jack wasProbably hanging around Big Pink in Woodstock with the rest of the Band.

And of course anybody who ever tuned a ukelele knows that my dog has fleas.