Dog Run! Doggone Dogs! by Karen Beaumont

As the morning sun peaks through the dark,
Doggone dogs begin to bark.
"No, dogs. Down, dogs. Sit, dogs. Hey!"
Doggone dogs do not obey!

It's barely daylight, and ten dogs, in all their goofy morning exuberance, bounce onto their bleary-eyed owner's bed. But before he can get out of his jammies, the dogs are downstairs and out the door for their morning run.

They turn and run the other way!
"Lucky, Lady, Retta, Curly!
No, dogs, NO! It's still too early!
Queenie, Wienie, Meanie, Moe!
Bubba, BeeGee, NO, DON'T GO!

Trailing ten leashes behind him, the pajama'd owner lumbers after the runaways, but in no time the dogs streak toward their favorite dog park, Central Bark. Inside, the Perfect Pooch Obedience School is already in morning session, but not for much longer, as the doggone dogs overrun the perfect pooches and lead them all astray deeper into the park.

Ignoring the signs which pointedly warn "IF YOU STOP TO POOP, PLEASE STOOP TO SCOOP," and "NO DOO UNTO OTHERS!," the doggies doo what dogs do so well:

"No, dogs. NO! Don't GO! PEEEUUUWWW!
Doggone dogs! What did you DO?!

But running amok, so to speak, has its consequences, and all ten of the doggone dogs soon find themselves rounded up and housed in the doggy hoosegow, looking out at their beloved park through chainlink fencing.

Six dogs, seven dogs, eight dogs, nine.
Doggone dogs begin to whine.

But desperate times call for desperate measures, and when the Animal Control guard dozes off (with the aid of a couple of Bark Bloc tablets) the ten dogs make their escape over (and under, in the case of one expert digger) the fence and turn for home, passing their weary owner, entangled in ten as yet unused leashes, as they dash through the door.

Three dogs, two dogs, one dog. Done!
Bow-Wow-Wow. That was fun!
Doggone Dogs from one to ten...
Cannot wait to go again!

Karen Beaumont's pitch-perfect "doggerel" verse and David Catrow's silly, awkwardly-ugly but lovable pooches make their brand-new collaboration, Doggone Dogs, a doggone good counting book that will keep youngsters sitting and staying from one to ten and back again.