IntroductionAh, the Renaissance. The Golden Age. If you’re looking for humanity’s greatest hits—art, astronomy, literature, science, education, medicine, etc.—the moments when we truly pulled our fingers out from the smelly crevices of the Middle Ages, then the Renaissance is it. Between 1400 and 1700(ish)—we’ve thrown in a little Reformation and Enlightenment-era art, too, because, well, why not—opening your eyes in the morning was transformed from a rather bleak experience to being a quite pleasant one, all thanks to a wealth of life-changing inventions: the pencil, the microscope, the telescope, the printing press, and even the flushable toilet. These instruments truly dragged us from the Dark Ages into the light. And, boy, what a breath of fresh air it was.
The Renaissance was so revolutionary, in fact, that it birthed the discovery of gravity. (Before Isaac Newton came along in 1666, everything was just floating in the air for no reason at all, which is crazy when you think about it.) Newton was just one of the many magnificent mortals who defined these immortal times. Shakespeare, da Vinci, Galileo, Machiavelli, Copernicus, Magellan, Bacon, Petrarch . . . and that guy who mistook America for India . . . all ran so the rest of us could now walk. Sure, the
Renaissance had its downsides—the constant warring, the never-ending pestilence, and the eternal religious persecution—but let’s forget about that. Ooh, look—a cute little doggy!
By our side every step of the way through this crazy period were, of course, dogs. Forever loyal and loving, these faithful companions and protectors witnessed humankind’s first steps toward greatness, without ever once complaining about our smell when we were too busy to take a shower (invented in 1767, FYI), despite having the most powerful noses on the planet. That’s love, right there. For three centuries or so, these furry, four-legged friends, with their dedication to pure joy and play (and eating literally anything that isn’t nailed down), have taught us how to be a little less like a wild animal and a little more like them. This dog-eared collection of canines—a
dogalog, if you’ll permit—celebrates these colorful creatures in all their silliest shapes and sizes.
As repayment for their service and loyalty during this period, the world’s greatest art masters painted pooches, poodles, and pups ever more imaginatively, and often ridiculously, into every frame of our lives—through the painting techniques the era pioneered (google it, I’m running out of space here). This ensured their place in the pantheon of recorded history alongside us, even if they didn’t sit still for one second of it.
So, welcome to the Renaissance. Grab a shovel, because you’re about to scoop up a
lot of silly doggy fun. Now, tell me, which Renaissance dog is
your favorite?
Copyright © 2026 by Taylor Wagmore. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
