" Nobody, except that wise woman, Rosa Bonheur, ever discerned that animals only do not speak because they are endowed with a discretion far and away over that of blatant, bellowing, gossiping, garrulous Man. "Only a dog," indeed I However, the phrase has a pretty, modest, graceful look, so let it stand. Men never are taken at their own valuation by others; and so I suppose dogs cannot expect to be either. "

― Ouida , Puck - His Vicissitudes, Adventures, Observations, Conclusions, Friendships, and Philosophies