As unlikely as it seemed at first, three eleven-year-old girls, thrown together by circumstance, become inseparable friends who call themselves the Dearwas. Unlikelier still, they join forces with a group of neighborhood boys, the Detectives, to form a club called the Band of Mercy, pledged to the humane treatment of animals. The children come to share a common philosophy, first expressed by one of the girls: If someone does you an injury, try to forget it; if someone does you a kindness, try to get even. Carolyn Verhoeff was a president of the Kentucky Animal Rescue League and she campaigned for the humane treatment of animals used for medical research. The Carolyn Verhoeff Animal Care Center at the University of Louisville School of Medicine was dedicated to her in 1963. NOTE: There are issues of race in the telling of "Love Me, Love My Dog", particularly anti-Black stereotypes. It is LibriVox's policy to record texts as written. (Summary by Brian Fullen)