You can use two %%
in the string to skip string formatting.:
In [169]: s='%(name)s has a %(animal)s that is %%(animal_age)s years old'
In [170]: s % {'name': 'Dolly', 'animal': 'bird', 'animal_age': 10}
Out[170]: 'Dolly has a bird that is %(animal_age)s years old'
or using string.format()
:
In [172]: s='{name} has a {animal} that is %(animal_age)s years old'
In [173]: dic = {'animal': 'bird', 'animal_age': 10, 'name': 'Dolly'}
In [174]: s.format(**dic)
Out[174]: 'Dolly has a bird that is %(animal_age)s years old'