To Know a Dog ...

Poet Elizabeth Barrett's dog was dognapped and held for ransom in London back in 1845. When her father refused to pay the 6 guinea, she turned to family friend Robert Browning, who ultimately helped her recover her dog – and win her heart. She eloped with Robert and become Elizabeth Barrett Browning, eventually moving to Italy with both Robert and the dog.

Two dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic. A Pekinese and a Pomeranian managed to find a tiny spot aboard the lifeboats with their owners.

The Australian expression for water is "dog soup."

In 2007, the average overall cost of owning a dog that lived to the age of 11 in the U.S.: $13,350.

I learned a lot from studying Spott's Canine Miscellany (Abrams, $14.95) by Mike Darton. The title is a play on the fun and fascinating Schott's Original Miscellany almanacs, covering a wide swath of dog facts, quotes, songs, stats and yes, even recipes (for dog biscuits).

If only it could tell me why Olive still insists on escaping our relatively escape-proof yard. Perhaps she's heard this quote, which I found in the Spott's book:

"Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear."
– Dave Barry, U.S. author and humorous columnist