In the United States, approximately 3.3 million dogs enter shelters every year, out of which approximately 35 percent are eventually put down. Against this backdrop of local shelters getting overcrowded, National Make a Dog's Day, which will be celebrated on Oct.22, will encourage people to visit animal shelters and remind them to adopt instead of shop for a new pet.

On this day, here are some quotes to celebrate man’s best friend:

  • "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
  • "Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” ― Roger Caras
  • "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does.” ― Christopher Morley
  • "Fall in love with a dog, and in many ways you enter a new orbit, a universe that features not just new colors but new rituals, new rules, a new way of experiencing attachment." ― Caroline Knapp
  • "You can usually tell that a man is good if he has a dog who loves him.” ― W. Bruce Cameron
  • "A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” ― Josh Billings
  • "Everything I know I learned from dogs.” – Nora Roberts
  • "The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” ― M.K. Clinton
  • "When an 85-pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.” ― Kristan Higgins
  • "Happiness is a warm puppy.” ― Charles M. Schulz
dog
In this image, a pit bull (R) and a boxer mix peer from their cage at the San Bernardino City Animal Shelter in San Bernardino, California, Feb. 4, 2014. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
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