A thousand dog-fancier fishermen can attest to that.

And, when humans are hunting any sort of game, a collie is several degrees worse than worthless.
Thus, Lad's usefulness, as a member of the party, was likely to be negligible;--except in the matter of guarding camp and as an all-round pal for the two campers.
Yet, as on former years, there was no question of leaving him at home.
Where the Mistress and the Master went, he went, too; whenever such a thing were possible.

He was their chum.

And they would have missed him as much as he would have missed them.
Which, of course, was an absurd way for two reasonably sane people to regard a mere dog.

But, then, Lad was not a "mere" dog.
Thus it was that he took his place, by invitation, in the car's tonneau, amid a ruck of hand-luggage; as the camp-ward pilgrimage began.