Peder Gustav Tjernagel (1864-1932) recorded these stories in pencil on a school notepad in 1909. The manuscript was later edited and typed by relatives who self-published the book as a family record. In his foreword to The Follinglo Dog Book, Wayne Franklin, professor of English at Northeastern University, places the book in its historical context and addresses our changing attitudes toward the humane treatment of house pets since the nineteenth century. Peter Tjernagel Harstad, Tjernagel's grandson and director of the Indiana Historical Society, provides an afterword to this edition.