National Dog Day 2021: 10 Quotes, Cute Photos Celebrating Man's Best Friend

National Dog Day is marked annually on Aug. 26 to celebrate man's best friend. This day was started to honor and spread awareness about rescue dogs.

Colleen Paige, the founder of National Dog Day, says: "Millions of dogs are killed each year because they're simply unwanted. They're unwanted because no one realized how to properly care for the demands of the breed."

"They're unwanted because they were bought as a Christmas gift for a child that didn't keep their promises about caring for the dog...unwanted because they shed too much...unwanted because they bark too much. UNWANTED...simply because someone changed their mind. All a dog wants to do is love you and be loved by you. Dogs are amazing, courageous, sensitive and sentient beings that deserve compassion and respect. Please consider bringing what was once considered 'unwanted love,' into your heart and home on National Dog Day!" Paige adds.

This day can be celebrated by showing some extra love to your dog, donating to your local shelter or by becoming an animal volunteer. If you don't have a pet dog, you can adopt one on this day.

Here are some quotes to honor dogs, courtesy Good Reads and Brainy Quote:

1. "Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies." — Gene Hill

2. "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man." — Mark Twain

3. "Buy a pup and your money will buy love unflinching." — Rudyard Kipling

4. "What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog."—Dwight D. Eisenhower

5. "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does." — Christopher Morley

6. "We may have pets, but when it comes to unconditional love, they are the masters." — Donald L. Hicks

7. "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." — Roger Caras

8. "Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job." — Franklin P. Jones

9. "Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace." — Milan Kundera

10. "You can usually tell that a man is good if he has a dog who loves him." — W. Bruce Cameron