 Child actress Helen Badgley , also known as The Thanhouser Kidlet , is described by the Thanhouser Company who made the film as a " precocious child actress who was very comfortable and expressive in front of the camera " . Shep the Dog , also known as The Thanhouser Collie , was a well @-@ trained animal performer who appeared in a number of the company 's films during this period . The dog 's acting , in portraying a range of emotions including " depression " , " groveling pathos " and " joy " , was noted to be superior to the child 's performance . Shep was owned by the film 's director Jack Harvey , but Shep had prior experience working for Vitagraph under Arthur Ashley . While at Vitagraph , Shep received very little coverage and recognition in comparison to Jean , the " Vitagraph Dog " . Evidence suggests that Shep starred in Shep , the Hero . Jack Harvey believed Shep to be almost human , he would direct Shep entirely by voice and would speak to him with " man talk " instead of simple commands . At an unknown , but presumably later date , Shep 's mate of four years , Bessie , became ill and Harvey saw it take a terrible emotional toll on Shep . When Bessie died , Harvey stated it would cause Shep to die of a broken @-@ heart . While A Dog 's Love was released little more than a month before Shep 's death in early November 1914 , two more films had yet to be released . Both The Barrier of Flames and Shep , the Sentinel would be released posthumously . 
