 Dogs make the most faithful pets. In this photo, a man swims with his dog at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 12, 2010. Photo: Getty Images/ Scott Barbour |
Saturday is National Dog Day, observed every year to honor man's (and woman's) best friend. The day is also celebrated to highlight the plight of dogs that still need to be rescued, and to encourage adoption, according to the holiday's website.
The website states the efforts dogs put in to help humans. Dogs "work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort," the website says.
Colleen Paige, founder of National Dog Day, says: "Millions of dogs are killed each year because they're simply unwanted. They're unwanted because no one realized how to properly care for the demands of the breed. They're unwanted because they were bought as a Christmas gift for a child that didn't keep their promises about caring for the dog...unwanted because they shed too much...unwanted because they bark too much. UNWANTED...simply because someone changed their mind. All a dog wants to do is love you and be loved by you. Dogs are amazing, courageous, sensitive and sentient beings that deserve compassion and respect. Please consider bringing what was once considered 'unwanted love,' into your heart and home on National Dog Day!"
Dogs make the most faithful pets. In this photo, a man swims with his dog at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 12, 2010. Photo: Getty Images/ Scott Barbour |
The day to celebrate our furry friends was first marked in 2004 by Paige, who is a pet and family lifestyle expert and animal advocate.
Below are some quotes to remember dogs, courtesy Goodreads and BrainyQuote:
1. "Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies." — Gene Hill
2. "Buy a pup and your money will buy love unflinching." — Rudyard Kipling
3. "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man." — Mark Twain
 A surfing dog named Derby swims through waves after a wipe out at the Surf Dog Competition at the 8th annual Petco Surf City Surf Dog event in Huntington Beach, California, Sept. 25, 2016. Photo: Getty Images |
4. "A hound will die for you, but never lie to you." — George R.R. Martin
5. "Happiness is a warm puppy." — Charles M. Schulz
6. "When an 85-pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it's hard to feel sad." — Kristan Higgins
7. "The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog." — M.K. Clinton
 A dog sits under a sun umbrella on Sao Conrado beach prior to the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro June 8, 2014. Photo: Reuters/Darren Staples |
8. "If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience." — Woodrow Wilson
9. "If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." — James Thurber
10. "What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog." — Dwight D. Eisenhower
 A bulldog rests before competing at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City, Feb. 13, 2017. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images |
11. "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does." — Christopher Morley
12. "We may have pets, but when it comes to unconditional love, they are the masters." — Donald L. Hicks
13. "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole" — Roger Caras
 A Boxer dog looks out from its kennel on first day of Crufts dog show at the NEC in Birmingham, England, March 6, 2014. Photo: Getty Images/Matt Cardy |
14. "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." — Josh Billings
15. "You can usually tell that a man is good if he has a dog who loves him." — W. Bruce Cameron
16. "Dogs never bite me. Just humans." — Marilyn Monroe
 A 29-day-old Labrador puppy sleeps against a tree at a courtyard in Beijing, Aug. 10, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/Jason Lee |
17. "Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace." — Milan Kundera
18. "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." — Will Rogers
19. "It's just the most amazing thing to love a dog, isn't it? It makes our relationships with people seem as boring as a bowl of oatmeal." — John Grogan
 A Terrier puppy wears a pirate costume during 'A Petrifiying Trail Pet' costume party at a mall in Pasay city, metro Manila, Oct. 23, 2016. Photo: REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco |
20. "The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made His greatest gifts the commonest." — Martin Luther