Pink Dog- Elizabeth Bishop

I felt like I understood parts of this poem but not all of it. I think the poem as a whole was a satire. The speaker almost has a teasing tone throughout the poem. The speaker is telling the dog what the town does to "idiots, paralytics, parasites" and asks "what would they do to sick, four-legged dogs?" I feel like this poem is a satire because it is using a helpless, ugly dog to represent the poor and beggars of Rio de Janeiro. The speaker tells the dog to "dress up and dance at the Carnival". The dog has to dress up and hide his true identity in order to be accepted. The dog will be ridiculed unless he conforms to society. I think the speaker is showing how poorly treated the beggars of Rio de Janeiro are if they are being compared to a "naked" dog. Some figurative language is also used in the phrase "you simply can't afford to be an eyesore". The speaker is implying that people will not want to look at the dog because it is so ugly. People look down on the poor and beggars; therefore, they don't want anything to do with them.