The stand alone titular tale was first published in American magazine Liberty 1930, and appeared in the UK in Cassell’s Magazine of August the same year. Published for the first time in this format together with two other stories, “The Great Play Hunt” and “Toby Dog”, the same year. Both British iterations were illustrated by George Loraine Stampa, a well known an artist for Punch magazine, particularly for his drawings of street urchins and dogs. Thy Servant a Dog comes later in Kipling's illustrious career, though was not critically well received, with some critics having higher expectations from the author of Kim and the Jungle Book. Some reviewers did appreciate the exploits of the Aberdeen Terrier however, as an unfortunately anonymous contemporary review states: "...they are deft and charming, bubbling with fun, touched with pathos, full of acute observation. Their cleverest feature is the limitation of the dogs’ world. The human beings are seen through their eyes only." The Times (October 28 1930)