When I was a boy a movie came out about a ranch family, on their own while the father was away on a long cattle drive, and a stray dog that arrived and laid claim, giving entertainment, loyalty, and protection. “Old Yeller” was one of my favorites of the time, but I watched it only once. If you’ve seen the film, you understand. In the story a teenage boy is forced by circumstance to destroy their heroic dog, which had defended them against a rabid animal, then contracted t