{"id":663,"date":"2026-03-13T13:42:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/?p=663"},"modified":"2026-03-13T13:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:43:40","slug":"why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Shakespeare Matters to Dogs (and Why We Celebrate It at Dogtopia!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"76\" data-end=\"251\">At first glance, William Shakespeare and dog daycare might seem worlds apart. But the truth is that dogs have been part of human stories for centuries\u2014including Shakespeare\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"253\" data-end=\"762\">Shakespeare understood something every dog parent knows: dogs are loyal, loving companions who bring joy, humor, and personality into our lives. In <em data-start=\"401\" data-end=\"430\">The Two Gentlemen of Verona<\/em>, the character Launce delivers one of Shakespeare\u2019s funniest scenes while lamenting that his dog, Crab, is the only member of the household who shows no emotion when he leaves home. Anyone who has ever watched their dog stare at them with complete indifference\u2014or overwhelming devotion\u2014knows exactly what Shakespeare was capturing.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"764\" data-end=\"1093\">Dogs appear throughout Shakespeare\u2019s plays as symbols of loyalty, friendship, and sometimes comic mischief. In <em data-start=\"875\" data-end=\"902\">A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>, the forest echoes with the sounds of hunting hounds, while in <em data-start=\"966\" data-end=\"977\">King Lear<\/em>, the playwright reminds us how even the humblest creatures can teach us something about devotion and companionship.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1095\" data-end=\"1559\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-669 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-prod.dogtopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2026\/03\/Julius-Caesar-221x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"221\" height=\"300\" \/>At Dogtopia, our monthly <strong data-start=\"1120\" data-end=\"1158\">Shakespeare-themed Dog Picture Day<\/strong> comes from a slightly unusual source of inspiration: a love of books. Outside of opening a Dogtopia, I\u2019ve long been a collector of early English literature and drama, including works from the same era in which Shakespeare was writing. Spending time with these centuries-old books is a reminder that people in Shakespeare\u2019s time laughed, loved, and cherished their animals much the same way we do today and it is still possible to find a connection to 400 years ago.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1561\" data-end=\"1815\">Bringing a little Shakespeare into Dogtopia is a fun way to connect those worlds. Literature often feels distant or formal, but at its heart it\u2019s about everyday life\u2014and few things are more joyful or universal than the bond between people and their dogs.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1561\" data-end=\"1815\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-670\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-prod.dogtopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2026\/03\/Fourth-Folio-300x252.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"252\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1817\" data-end=\"2171\">So once a month we lean into that idea. We set up a Shakespeare-themed photo day where pups might appear in a tiny Elizabethan ruff, channel their inner Hamlet, or simply strike a noble pose worthy of the Globe Theatre stage. It\u2019s playful, a little unexpected, and a reminder that great stories\u2014and great dogs\u2014both have a way of bringing people together.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2173\" data-end=\"2323\">And if Shakespeare were visiting Dogtopia today, we suspect he would have written at least one unforgettable scene about a daycare full of happy dogs.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2325\" data-end=\"2440\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">After all, as every dog lover knows, the world\u00a0really is a stage\u2014and our dogs are often the stars of the show.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2325\" data-end=\"2440\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-666 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-prod.dogtopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2026\/03\/Tuckers-Shakespeare-Picture-200x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"384\" height=\"577\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2325\" data-end=\"2440\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At first glance, William Shakespeare and dog daycare might seem worlds apart. But the truth is that dogs have been part of human stories for centuries\u2014including Shakespeare\u2019s. Shakespeare understood something every dog parent knows: dogs are loyal, loving companions who bring joy, humor, and personality into our lives. In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia\/>Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"fimg_url":"https:\/\/s3-prod.dogtopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2026\/03\/Romeo-and-Juliet-Themed-Picture.jpeg","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.6 (Yoast SEO v22.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Shakespeare Matters to Dogs (and Why We Celebrate It at Dogtopia!) - Norfolk - Ghent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Shakespeare Matters to Dogs (and Why We Celebrate It at Dogtopia!)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At first glance, William Shakespeare and dog daycare might seem worlds apart. But the truth is that dogs have been part of human stories for centuries\u2014including Shakespeare\u2019s. Shakespeare understood something every dog parent knows: dogs are loyal, loving companions who bring joy, humor, and personality into our lives. In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Norfolk - Ghent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-13T17:42:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-13T17:43:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3-prod.dogtopia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/462\/2026\/03\/Romeo-and-Juliet-Themed-Picture.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1086\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"724\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"chipsutelan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"chipsutelan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dogtopia.com\/virginia-norfolk-ghent\/why-shakespeare-matters-to-dogs-and-why-we-celebrate-it-at-dogtopia\/\",\"name\":\"Why Shakespeare Matters to Dogs (and Why We Celebrate It at Dogtopia!) - 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