Drew Six featured in USA TODAY

We're all ears as dog owners break out in goofy song

Your dog loves it, you love it, and chances are pretty good that all the rest of us would love it and would very much like to see it — because, well, we get it. Very few things are as sweet and touchy and giggle-provoking as people who are so crazy about their dogs they're moved to break out in song.

Well, keep your singing private if you must. But some people don't mind making idiots of themselves for all the world to see. Dozens of them hauled out their gittars, hunkered down with their dogs, got the camera rolling and recorded songs they'd written for or about their four-legged buddies.

It was all in response to a contest that Waggin' Train, the treat company, ginned up during the summer.

A few of them have been posted online.

A clearly besotted Dave Thomas of Chesapeake, Va., strums a fine guitar and sings a touching tune about a "pretty girl from overseas misty isles" who "had my heart from the very first smile." The heart-thief in question finally appears, and she's Lorna Doone, a young border collie who cuddles and kisses and very clearly returns every bit of the affection Dave feels for her.

And then there's Drew Six of Prairie Village, Kansas, whose mastiff mix and Lab mix, June and Cash, respectively, enjoy the pleasure of his serenade (while yawning occasionally and looking a little puzzled from time to time).

The two men are among five finalists selected from the 200-plus dog-loving crooners who entered their original tunes in the contest. Country star Trace Adkins helped choose the five clearly dog-obsessed (and possibly soon-to-be-famous-recording-artist-bound) warbler, who will each get an all-expenses-paid trip to Nashville, where they'll perform for the star just before the Country Music Association Awards Nov. 9. The winner will get a professional recording session.

But between now and then, we all get to watch the unabashed affection (and canine companion expressions — not always appreciative of the musical skill … or maybe they're camera shy).

Shawnie Deutsch of Yelm, Wash., performed her ditty while tooling down the highway with wingwoman Sasha, her Siberian husky at her side. Mala Patterson, of Hartselle, Ala., all dudded up in short overalls and cowboy boots, performed her number on a cabin porch for English bulldog Bama, a placid-looking dog, even in the face of the racket of Patterson's washboard accompaniment.

And Dewey Longuski of Mason, Mich., perched on a hay bale beside Joker, a border collie/spaniel mix, who sat more or less patiently for the performance, but immediately at its conclusion leapt forward toward the video person, who seemed to have been the keeper of the treats.

All of the jingles, of course, mention or celebrate the joys of Waggin' Trail treats, since that was the whole point of the contest. And each and every one gives a little insight into the relationship between the human and his or her dog(s), and, really, they're quite sweet to watch.

So check 'em out. And who knows? You may be witnessing the first step of what will become a colossal career.

 

--- Pet Talk by Sharon. L. Peters