Who is the dog in question?

Who came up with that phrase, «the dog days?» Who is the dog, and why is it his day? Maybe it’s because dogs love to lie out in the sun and laze around all day and do nothing. This is exactly what I want to do too, but whether or not I’m allowed to do that is a whole other story. If I could trade places with a dog for exactly one day, I would jump at the opportunity. It would be nice to be relieved of my responsibilities for the time being, and end up sitting in a sunny part of the living room and just enjoying my life. This would be a pretty nice way to spend a day. Maybe I’d chase a bug around the house and see if I could catch it with my mouth. Maybe I would look out the window and daydream about all the things I could smell. Maybe I would beg while my owners ate dinner, tantalized by the scent wafting throughout the house. Maybe I would chase my own tail just for the heck of it. If you could do that for one day, would you? I don’t know if I’d want to be a dog for the rest of my life, because being human has its benefits, but at least a little time could be nice.