Artwork from The Saturday Evening Post

“A boy with a dog is blessed with golden opportunities for character-building and high adventure. A boy without a dog misses many experiences that help to establish some of life’s fundamental values…”

“The barefoot boy is acquiring a cheek of tan and a chin of puppy lappings. His schoolteacher has gone to the city for summer vacation, hurrah, and the day of her return is as far away as John Clymer’s farthest, bluest hills. How sweet it is to have nothing to do but be a puppyboy! Unhappily, this boy may have something to do if he doesn’t retire out of sight beyond a hill; his dad, down there steering horses, may get some weird idea about all play and no work making dull boys, and cry, “Ira! Whitewash the hen coop!” Returning to puppies, Mrs. Dog is thinking, What a nice dog that boy would make. I love him like one of my own kiddies. Which, to cram in one more misquotation, brings to mind the old saying, “A dog’s best friend is his boy.”