--- title: A Boy and His Dog: A Portrait of Friendship description: Photographs from 1945 chronicling the friendship between a 12-year-old Iowan named Larry Jim Holm and his loyal dog, Dunk. canonical: https://time.com/3880672/a-boy-and-his-dog-portrait-of-friendship/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-04T08:00:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T14:11:07.000Z og:title: A Boy and His Dog: A Portrait of Friendship og:description: Photographs from 1945 chronicling the friendship between a 12-year-old Iowan named Larry Jim Holm and his loyal dog, Dunk. og:url: https://time.com/3880672/a-boy-and-his-dog-portrait-of-friendship/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb317bb23dc452960/69884c48cd1bbac9616faeed/140729-boy-dog-1945-18.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A Boy and His Dog og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Boy and His Dog: A Portrait of Friendship twitter:description: Photographs from 1945 chronicling the friendship between a 12-year-old Iowan named Larry Jim Holm and his loyal dog, Dunk. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb317bb23dc452960/69884c48cd1bbac9616faeed/140729-boy-dog-1945-18.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Boy and His Dog: Portrait of Friendship by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Updated: Jan 24, 2024 2:11 PM UTCPublished: Aug 4, 2014 8:00 AM UTC  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945.Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Updated: Jan 24, 2024 2:11 PM UTCPublished: Aug 4, 2014 8:00 AM UTC In the late summer of 1945, as the Second World War was finally coming to a close, LIFE magazine published a series of pictures by photographer Myron Davis—including the first one in this gallery, which has since become a classic—chronicling the fast friendship between a 12-year-old Iowan named Larry and his 18-month-old dog, Dunk. --- > “” --- Somehow we get the feeling that there are countless men, women, boys and girls everywhere—people who have a hard time imagining life without a furry friend close at hand—who know exactly what Larry’s talking about. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Caption from LIFE. "Tired and thoroughly dirty from a hard day's play, Dunk pads along the roadbed while Larry practices the delicate art of walking on rails." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Dunk has learned how to open door with nose." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Holding on to Dunk, Larry waves at engineer." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Mowing the lawn goes better with Dunk along." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "He doesn't look it, but Dunk enjoys the water." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Dunk waits patiently while Larry feeds calves." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Turtles are among many wonderful discoveries." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  "They go to Oskaloosa to see the circus come in." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Larry waits patiently while Dunk eats supper." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "All tired out, they rest against an oat shock." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Fishing is their favorite summer pastime. They rarely catch very many and the fish are usually pretty small, but Dunk always shows an interest in a wet, wiggly catch." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "Off for home, Larry and Dunk trudge down the country road with a good-enough mess of fish. Larry says, 'Jeepers, I wouldn't take a hundred dollars for Dunk.'" Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "At the end of the day Larry sprawls out with the funnies and Dunk collapses on the floor, heaves a dog-sigh and wiggles up as close to Larry as he possibly can." Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Unpublished out-takes to follow.  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry Jim Holm, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry Jim Holm, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. Myron Davis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Larry and Dunk, Iowa, 1945. 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