10th Anniversary of NBC’s – ‘The Perfect Dog’ by John O’Hurley

10th Anniversary of NBC’s – ‘The Perfect Dog’ by John O’Hurley

Another National Dog Show feature surrounding the 2023 event was the 10th anniversary of “The Perfect Dog,” a poem written by National Dog Show on NBC host John O’Hurley. In 2012, the Seinfeld ensemble actor, entering his second decade as host of The National Dog Show Presented by Purina, was inspired by his seven-year-old son, Will, to write his third canine-centric book, titled The Perfect Dog.

Will had been to several National Dog Shows in Philadelphia and became familiar with the term “Best in Show,” the designation earned by the show dog judged as the winner of the competition. He asked his Dad during the holidays following the National Dog Show Thanksgiving Day broadcast that year if the Best in Show dog, as the winner, was The Perfect Dog.

Thus inspired, O’Hurley drew on his experience in the dog world and wrote a captivating poem that answered that very question in a special way. What followed was the book, published by Penguin Group in 2013, and a video, wonderfully produced by NBC’s National Dog Show Presented by Purina team for air during that year’s two-hour broadcast on Thanksgiving Day.

The book’s adaptation into a children’s theater musical has since graced playhouses worldwide. 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of this literary, artistic, and theatrical triumph.

Here’s the video via NBC/National Dog Show

And here is the poem as originally written:

The Perfect Dog

My son asked a question, as little boys do,

Of me in my wisdom and all that I knew. “Is there a dog that is perfect?” He asked on a whim. Well, I thought and I thought about where to begin.

He’d have ears that were floppy…

Or cropped and alert,

And eyes that were sleepy…

Or perky and pert.

He’d leap like a bunny…

Or sit in your lap,

And run fast as horses,

Or opt for a nap.

A dog that is perfect would be covered in spots,

Or, maybe, one color…

And then have spots not.

He’d be small as a teacup or big as a house,

With a nose that seemed flattened…

Or long as a mouse.

He’d swim…

And he’d hunt…

With a coat flying free,

Or be dainty and delicate…

And “he’d” be a “she.”

As I struggled to answer, and not with a clue, my son, with a smile, said, out of the blue, With the wisdom of children, what he already knew…

“The dog that is perfect is the one next to you.”