As a final digression, there is a long poem by Thomas Hood, "Dog-grel Verses, by a Poor Blind" which lists a series of "dogs" he has had the misfortune to own or be led around by. It is introduced by "Hark, hark, the dogs do bark, / The beggars are coming..."--(Old Ballad). As you can see (below), it is set to the same meter.

Oh what shall I do for a dog ?
Of sight I have not got a particle,
Globe, Standard, or Sun,
Times, Chronicle—-none
Can give me a good leading article.

A Mastiff once led me about,
But people appear'd so to fear him—-
I might have got pence
Without his defence,
But Charity would not come near him.

...

My next was a Westminster Dog,
From Aistrop the regular cadger ;
But, sightless, I saw
He never would draw
A blind man so well as a badger.

...