Hal Roach Studios
Starring: Mickey Daniels, Jackie Condon, Jack Davis
Directed by: Tom McNamara

Synopsis: A kindly old cobbler named Mr. Tuttle (Richard Daniels) agrees to fix a baseball for the gang, even though they get into all kinds of mischief in his shop.  Later when the man receives his back pension he takes the gang for a picnic.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): While the kids are in Mr. Tuttle’s store little Farina keeps sneaking into the other room.  At one point Jackie follows her, then a cat is seen going through the curtains as well.

A parrot calls out “Kittie!  Kittie!  Kittie!” which gets the attention of the Gang’s dog.  The dog runs in after the cat.  Some time later there is a loud commotion from the other room.  The gang manages to pull Jackie and Farnia out of the way when they emerge and then the cobbler runs to the curtains just as the dog comes slinking back out, looking chastened.  The grey and white cat then pokes his head out through the curtains and the caption reads “R-r-r-r!  Bring on ‘nother pup!”

Needless to say the gang has a fun time ribbing Mickey about the fact that his dog was licked by a cat!

It’s interesting to note that before the dog went into the other room he did not have a black ring around his eye, but when he emerges he does, indicating that the cat has given him a black eye!  In trying to research the history of Pete the Pup, as the Our Gang dog would later be known, most people accredit his part in these early films to a canine actor named Pal who was already famous for his role in the Buster Brown short films.  But it appears those films were made *after* these early Our Gang shorts and it doesn’t seem like the dog who appeared in these earliest shorts have become Pete yet.  In fact this one gag is the first time in the series the dog is seen with a ring around his eye, even though it is not present during the second half of the film or in the film immediately following this gag.

Final Mewsings: Who knew the original ring around the dog’s eye was caused by a cat?

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