Document 43

Whit is a dug?

Author(s): George Hynd

Copyright holder(s): George Hynd

This is called 'A Poem for Jim' or 'Whit Is a Dug?'

A dug is a thing that lies on the rug,
Looks up at you wi' a face sae smug.
It'll only move wi' a prod o' your feet
Cos it's fu' up to the brim wi' kennel meat.

It's stark fu' o' meat and marrow-bone jelly
And it's waitin' for you to tickle its belly
As it lies on your hearth rug in front of your fire.
It is your master cos you were the buyer.

Now, dugs they come in a' shapes and sizes,
Some go to shows and there they win prizes.
Wee women carry yorkies aboot in wee boxes
And huntsmen on horseback use hounds to chase foxes.

Some live in great grandeur and some in wee huts.
To the man in the street they're a' termed as mutts.
There's Lassies, and Rovers and Towzers and Spikes;
It's funny the names folk dig up fur their tykes.

There's bull-dogs and lurchers, labradors and alsations,
Wee pekinese and many-spotted dalmations,
Afghans, stag-hounds, bonzois and beagles.
At Dunbar there's a wee dug that chases the sea-gulls.

There's black an’ white collies that round up the sheep
An’ big Saint Bernard's cost a fortune to keep,
Wee totty chihuahuas that'll fit in your pocket,
Then greyhounds and whippets that can run like a rocket

A dug is a puppy it's a bonny wee beast,
It takes ower yer hoose, aye that's sayin the least,
It gets petted and pampered and smothered wi' care
An’ it pays a' that kindness by peein on yer flair.

A dug is your best pal, a freend and a mate
As it sits tails a-waggin' fur you at the gate.
A dug will be faithful to you a' its life,
A better companion than many a' wife.

It disnae ask much, just some grub every day,
A wee bit o' a walk an' a wee bit o' play.
So keep this in mind when it nuzzles your lug,
Your best friend in life is a thing ca'd a dug.

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Whit is a dug?

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