Quotes from The 101 Dalmatians

Dodie Smith ·  184 pages

Rating: (30.5K votes)


“Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“Mr. Dearly wasn't exactly handsome but he had the kind of face you don't get tired of.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“Your pain and anger will pass, but the guilt would remain with you for always.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“Dogs can never speak the language of humans, and humans can never speak the language of dogs. But many dogs can understand almost every word humans say, while humans seldom learn to recognize more than half a dozen barks, if that. And barks are only a small part of the dog language. A wagging tail can mean so many things. Humans know that it means a dog is pleased, but not what a dog is saying about his pleasedness. (Really, it is very clever of humans to understand a wagging tail at all, as they have no tails of their own.) Then there are the snufflings and sniffings, the pricking of ears—all meaning different things. And many, many words are expressed by a dog’s eyes.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“Now, carols are always beautiful, but if you are sad they can make you feel sadder. (There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.)”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians



“NOT long ago, there lived in London a young married couple of Dalmatian dogs named Pongo and Missis Pongo. (Missis had added Pongo’s name to her own on their marriage, but was still called Missis by most people.) They were lucky enough to own a young married couple of humans named Mr. and Mrs. Dearly, who were gentle, obedient, and unusually intelligent—almost canine at times. They understood quite a number of barks: the barks for “Out, please!” “In, please!” “Hurry up with my dinner!” and “What about a walk?” And even when they could not understand, they could often guess—if looked at soulfully or scratched by an eager paw. Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them. Pongo and Missis found this touching and amusing and let their pets think it was true.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“There is a connection between Dal mations and gipsies. Many people believe that it was the gipsies who first brought Dalmatians to England, long, long ago. And nothing like as long ago as that, there were gipsies who travelled round England with Dalmatians trained to do tricks. And these performing dogs earned money for the gipsies.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“And suddenly all the puppies were her puppies; she was their mother—just as Pongo had felt he was their father.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


“But during the many happy hours that Cadpig was to sit watching it in the warm kitchen she never liked it quite so much as that other television, that still silent television she had seen on Christmas Eve when the puppies had rested so peacefully in that strange lofty building. She often remembered that building and wondered who owned it. Someone very kind she was sure for in front of every one of the many seats there had been a little carpet-eared puppy-sized dog-bed.”
― Dodie Smith, quote from The 101 Dalmatians


About the author

Dodie Smith
Born place: in Whitefield, The United Kingdom
Born date May 3, 1896
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