Boy Sending Dog Home by Norman Rockwell

June 19, 1920 Issue of The Saturday Evening Post

Boy Sending Dog Home, this Norman Rockwell painting, appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post published June 19, 1920.

An alternate title for this painting is Three's Company.

This painting was Rockwell's thirty-first overall picture out of 322 total featured on the cover of The Post. Rockwell's career with the Post spanned 47 years, from his first cover illustration, Boy With Baby Carriage in 1916 to his last, Portrait of John F. Kennedy, in 1963.

This was also the sixth Rockwell cover in 1920. The Post featured a Rockwell illustration on its cover eleven times in 1920.

This illustration has been reproduced in two Rockwell commentary books, as illustration 132 of Norman Rockwell: Artist and Illustrator by Thomas Buechner and on page 83 of Norman Rockwell, A Definitive Catalogue by Laurie Norton Moffatt.

Like all the really early Rockwell Post covers, this one is hard to locate in excellent condition. I have seen original copies of this cover sell for over one hundred dollars.

Boy Sending Dog Home

The saddest event in a dog's life is when his boy discovers girls.

This dog's boy has gone to call on his girlfriend.

He has brought flowers that he picked himself. He has dressed in his best clothes. He is even wearing a tie around his neck.

In short, this boy means business.

The object of his affections can be seen through the window in the door. She is gazing through the window at the boy with undisguised warmth. She is glad to see him at her door.

We cannot know how long the boy and girl have been courting. But we can know by the dog's age that his love for the boy predates that of the girl.

The dog also loves his boy more than any old girl does.

The dog was tied at home to a stake. He was tied with a short rope.

He was so determined to follow his boy that he pulled the stake from the ground. He followed his boy's scent to this spot. That was no mean feat, either, because his boy, for some reason, has disguised his scent!

After all that, he has found his boy. His boy, however, doesn't seem happy to see him. His boy points backwards and tells him to go home.

Will the poor little dog return home by himself? Or will his boy have to take him there? Will his boy's girl understand?

Norman Rockwell was the master at telling a whole story with just one scene.

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