Here are the winning entries from Mac's 2003 Dog Poetry Contest! The theme of this contest was about leading healthier canine lifestyles -- a dog's approach to exercise, diet, and nutrition. We hope you enjoy these poems as much as we did!

First Place: "Exercise: Dog and Heart"
by Taylor Grahm

Second Place: "Pilates Dog"
by Jenny Reen

Third Place: "The Saluki"
by Amy Pierce

How reluctantly this master comes
to the notion of running! Health,
he says; his heart: that single-
minded human purpose, as thin

as the leather lead he clips
To my collar, barely containing
my joy at running! Let the old
heart take care of itself.

Oh, we'l leave our own latched
gate so far behind, when every
dirt road opens onto fields
full of smells that never fit

in a human's nose. How slowly
master's stubbled legs must jog
up the hill! My four, feathered,
can catch a cloud on the fly.

A good dog outruns his leash,
leaving master to huff and chug
in time to the gulp of his lungs
and beat of his aerobic heart.

Just listen, how soft the cry
of master so far behind me,
calling commands to his dog
his heart, to everlasting spring.

Copyright © 2003 by Taylor Graham

inhale prepare
exhale as you lift
your leg to water
another tree

inhale prepare
exhale as you lower
your head onto
your master's lap

inhale prepare
exhale as you lift
your head to bark
at the passing dog

inhale prepare
exhale as you lower
your vocal chords
to maintain a growl

keeping your abdomen
tight, like a corset
life the heart and spirit
of your alpha and his pups

Copyright © 2003 by Jenny Reen.

Copyright © 2003 by Amy Pierce