Life, 1921-09-15 · page 11 of 34
Life — September 15, 1921 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This illustration depicts a mother dog offering final advice to her puppies before they leave home. The accompanying text presents the "golden rule" reframed for dogs: they must love some human being and be willing to sacrifice for them to be worthy of the name "dog." The satire appears to criticize human society by contrast. While dogs naturally demonstrate loyalty and selfless devotion, the text implies humans often fail at this basic moral standard. The wealthy may adopt dogs, but poor humans "slink in the alley at the heels of a man who can barely buy food for himself." This is sentimental animal satire—using dogs' superior moral character to shame human selfishness and economic inequality. The "rule" suggests dogs model virtues humans should emulate but frequently don't.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
September 15 The Golden Canine Rule The Mother Dog (giving her last bit of advice to her family before the breaking of home ties on the morrow): Some of you will be adopted in homes of the wealthy, and some of you will slink in the alley at the heels of a man who can barely buy food for himself. But if you live on cream, or if you starve, this you must do to prove true to tradition: You must love some human being and be willing to give up your life for him, otherwise you are not worthy of being called a dog. comicbooks.com