I began by asking myself what exactly are urban legends. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English language, an urban legend is an apocryphal story involving incidents of the recent past, often including elements of humor and horror that spreads quickly and is popularly believed to be true.  In other words urban legends are stories that can change a person's ideas or perception about something if that person believes it. Since belief is such a huge part of how an urban legend works, the person telling the legend wants you to believe it is true. A lot of urban legends were inspired by an actual event but changed into something different in their passing from person to person. A person might pass the legend on for simple reasons like it being funny, scary, or interesting. Sometimes these legends teach life lessons or have a theme that reflects society's issues. When you first hear the story, you are completely amazed that such a thing has happened. When told correctly, a good urban legend will leave you on the edge of your seat and will be believable. They get passed on because the details make them seem so real. Since I like animals I thought it would be fun to find dog urban legends. Dogs are man's best friend and what better way to incorporate these humble creatures into a legend that could be true or not. I have loved dogs since I can remember. I think I got my first dog when I was only five years old. So I wrote my Storybook entitled Dog Urban Legends 101.

Snopes .com is a great website that I used to research many urban legends about dogs. Some I found were actually hilarious, while others not so funny. I found and narrowed my stories to three dog urban legends found on Snopes. The Choking Doberman is a legend with themes that point out concerns about the threat of crime, burglary, and violence against women by men. This is especially for crimes that take place in private homes.  The second legend, Daisy Unchained, is about a dog named Daisy who rescues people from the World Trade Center Towers. Finally, Dog Island is about an island that's a sanctuary for dogs which is maintained off the coast of Florida. I chose these three stories in particular because they all caught my interest by their titles alone. After I read them I was hooked. In my storybook, both the Doberman and Daisy meet up on Dog Island to escape and relax from their heroic efforts made to save the lives of humans.

From my storybook, I hope that you gain an appreciation or even a love for dogs as I have.  Dogs are heroes and protectors of human beings and in the storybook these heroic attempts will be explored. Let's take a look at some of these stories by going to Paws University into the class of Professor Shepherd.  The University is set up to teach the dogs how to be loyal pets who may have to one day have a lot of courage. The class will be introduced to the storybook Dog Urban Legends 101 which was put together by Professor Shepard as a way to show the students how to be humble and brave pets for their owners by any means necessary.  In the storybook you will find three stories. Beethoven is a story of a loyal dog who stopped a thief in action. Lassie is a story of a heroic dog who saves the lives of many people in house fires. Finally, Paradise Island isa story about the rewards a dog gets when he is a great pet.

“Woof morning, class.” (Class responds in unison)

“Wooof morning, Mrs. Shepherd.”

“Today begins the first day of our new unit: urban legends. Throughout the week we will read Dog Urban Legends 101. In this book we will read legends, which teach us lessons and entertain us. Often we are taught about urban legends geared toward humans. How many of you have heard of dog urban legends?”

Lassie the collie answers in a soft voice. “No, Mrs. Shepherd, I didn’t know they existed.”

“Well, let me tell you they do and they are really enjoyable stories. Starting tomorrow we will take a look at a story of a dog that saved the day but had to go to the vet in the process.”

  The next day Mrs. Shepherd and her class begin reading the stories about dog urban legends.
 

“Okay, class, today is day one of the readings. Everyone turn to the first story and follow along while I read aloud. Before we get started are there any questions or concerns?” 

The class is silent, so she proceedes.

 “Okay! Well then, let us get started! Is everyone excited?”

The class responds with howls and barks. “I take that as a yes.” 

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Image Web Source: Paws University