If You Beat Your Dog Poem by Francis Duggan

If you beat your dog what does this say of you
That to love and compassion you cannot be true
I pity your children and I pity your wife
With you they must have the most miserable life
Your dog is the most aggressive dog on the street
The reason he is this way is that him you mistreat
Each time I pass your locked front yard gate he growls and bares his teeth
Could he escape from the yard him I'd not wish to meet
Those who beat their dog can also beat their wife, daughter and son
For cruelty does not have borders when all is said and done
Your dog does not greet you home from work at the gate
He does not respect you as his master or mate
The fear he has of you in aggression to others he does show
The sort of person you are through your aggressive dog I have come to know.