This dog has such a sweet disposition to allow his back leg to be stepped on by Mr. Reuter. Perhaps it is an effort to get him to sit still?

I hope Mrs. Reuter didn't die in childbirth, which was common in those days. Fritz looks pretty rumpled, but his children's clothing is clean and freshly pressed. Someone's looking after the children. Their hairdos are amazing. This photograph could have been taken to be sent back to the old country.

[Adolphine Reuter was alive, well and elsewhere. She inherited Fritz's estate when he committed suicide in 1906. - Dave]

The cat is probably in a constant state of alert, and doesn't trust the dog even for a minute. From the size of those jaws I'm not sure I would either if I was of the feline persuasion.

From the comic strip in the New York Herald 1904, Buster Brown, created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company his sweetheart Mary Jane, and his dog Tige, an American Pit Bull Terrier, were well-known to the American public in the early 20th century. The character's name was also used to describe a popular style of suit for young boys, the Buster Brown suit, that echoed his own outfit. Buster was a young city-dwelling boy with wealthy parents. He is disturbingly pretty, but a cut-up scamp rascal.