 The film was well received by film critics and even the passing mentions in The Moving Picture World remarked that it was a good offering with good photography . Jack Harvey 's debut film as a director was well received by the public due to its " universally appealing " theme . Thanhouser writes that the " loyal dog 's attachment to his little girl playmate is treated with pictorial beauty and simple , honest sentiment " , and notes that when it was released on October 4 , 1914 , reviewers praised the " double @-@ exposure passages for their dramatic effectiveness " . Louis Reeves Harrison of The Moving Picture World ' review of the film stated , " This play becomes one of delicate pathos toward the end through some remarkable feats of double exposure , and it is one of beauty throughout because of the acting of a four @-@ year @-@ old tot , Baby Helen , a veritable star in her class . Shep contributes with exceptional intelligence - he is not eternally looking at his master out of scope for a word of command . ... I do not know what director handled this subject , but I suggest he apply his thought visualizations to the human characters of future stories . It is the exhibition of what passes in the minds and hearts of characters that brings an audience into closer sympathy with them and makes tense interest possible when melodrama merely brings a laugh . The double exposures are timed with such skill in this instance that all concerned in their production deserve high praise . They give beauty and dignity to a very simple story . " 
