Lyric discussion by SCLisi 

Cover art for Mandy lyrics by Barry Manilow

This song is NOT about a dog. It is a cover of the song "Brandy" written by Scott English. He made up the story about the dog when he was sick of questions about the song. He has never publicly stated what the song is explicitly about.

"Mandy" by Scott English and made famous by Barry Manilow is about a guy who was a heroin addict, then helped to break it by Mandy--he tossed her out, he went back to drugs and is crying out for her help again. That's why "it was raining down as cold as ICE" and "you stopped me from shakin."