You'd have to have tear ducts of steel not to mist over a little listening to how Treacle, winner of the Dogged Devotion prize, curls up next to her five-year-old owner while she undergoes 12 hours of dialysis each night.
When I first read that last month's hijacked EgyptAir flight might have boiled down to a man's desperation to see his ex-wife, I didn't think: Aw, what a sweet display of puppy-dog devotion, but more: If they're divorced why can't this dude let it go, it's done mate.
And less complicated, for sure; a dog's devotion is without detectable irony, a lap cat's purring without artifice (if not disapproval).
The accompanying text, which draws a parallel between the dog's devotion to his master and the yogi's faith, concludes: "Your dog is better than anything in the world of fidelity.
HE DIED a much-loved Englishman, renowed for his untidy shock of white hair, his shambling wanderings on Hampstead Heath with his dog Dizzy, his devotion to literature, and the modesty that allowed him, when leader of the Labour Party, to stand in his anorak waiting at the bus stop, comme tout le monde.
Like a morality tale, the names of his characters reflect on their personalities; Frank (as much of a performer as his wife) is not frank, the Wheelers spin out of control, their neighbour Shep Campbell has a canine friendliness and eagerness, like a dog in his devotion to April.
The lagging dog's sheer devotion allows him to survive several physical impediments, each more crushing than the previous.
Mr. Gore will give his speech amid Hollywood values -- out-of-control egos, blatant materialism, a dog-eat-dog ethos and a devotion to pretense.
In his long apprenticeship, in his use of social intelligence to navigate a dog-eat-dog world, in his devotion to craft, Mr. Garcia appeared as if he had walked right out of the pages of "The 48 Laws" or "Mastery," the reporter observed.
Are you saying that people are worth less than dogs?" Yet the doglike devotion of pet owners here seems to have softened even the hardened city government heart.
The focused devotion of a dog, when it occurs (and not all dogs are capable of it), is one of the most moving of all the gifts that we receive from animals - all the more moving for not being truly a gift but rather a need.
