KQED's Forum What Has a Dog Shown You?
Nov 17, 2025
Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate and author of "Dog Show," converses about the deep bond between humans and dogs. He shares nostalgic memories of his first dog, Sparky, and reflects on the emotional weight of ordinary items like a collar. Collins reads touching verses, emphasizing how dogs teach us about presence, love, and the joys of everyday life. He also shares insights on the contrasting perceptions of mortality in dogs and humans, and how their simple existence challenges our complex nature.
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First Dog, First Heartache
- Billy Collins recounts getting his first dog, Sparky, after reading Lassie books and moving to a house in Westchester.
- His father warned, "we're buying a heartache," framing pet ownership as joyful yet inevitably painful.
Dogs' Different Sense Of Mortality
- Collins notes dogs experience mortality differently and lack concept of dying, which shapes our grief.
- He imagines the sweetest shadow a dog could cast by outliving its owner on walks in the woods.
Poem: A Dog On His Master
- Collins reads 'A Dog on His Master' from Dog Show, a short poem imagining a dog's perspective on aging relative to its owner.
- The poem frames the dog overtaking the owner as a tender 'sweetest shadow' on snow or grass.
