A Real Dog by Jennifer Dickerson

would bark
I told the Labrador
after the burglar had called
and taken everything.

He put his furry head in my lap.
Did you do that to the burglar
when he paused for breath
between lifting the television
into my car and coming back
for the stereo?
Did you show him the refrigerator and rub
your shiny black coat along his leg
while he ate the last of the pork roast?

Friendliness, they said, is a characteristic
of the breed. Well you have that
in excess.
Next time I’ll get
a cougar for a pet.