Every dog yaks

Long after I did this cartoon, I began thinking - where in the heck did the "sick as a dog" idiom come from? What does it actually mean? 

A quick Google search led to an explanation that "sick" is more related to "vomit" in British English. So, if you're sick as a dog, it's serious enough to involve toilet hugging. Not that dogs do that. In fact, their relationship with a toilet typically involves more intake than discharge. Another site suggested it meant feeling ill, but being unable to vomit. Since finding the truth on the Internet is about as easy as finding a needle in a haystack (great... one more phrase to ponder.. wait... no, that one is actually pretty obvious), we are left up to our own conclusions. I mean unless you actually want to do the research.

All I know is that on more than one occasion I've seen my dog do the vomit walk - hunched over, walking slowly, eating an occasional blade of grass, and then -  yak! All better!  huh.. I wonder why we refer to a long-haired bovine to mean vomit...  

Remember, if you just want to see cartoons without all the yakkity yak, check out Beckhead Comics' Facebook page and Twitter.