a dog watches over words

public domain, courtesy of the british library. link to page here

This floppy-eared boy lies in watch over one page of a Dutch Book of Hours dating c. 1420 and very likely belonging to a nun.  He shares duty with a dragon, so he's not too worried.

From the British Library, below:
Book of Hours, with the Hours of the Virgin, the Short Hours of the Holy Cross, Prayers and Suffrages (ff. 8-179v), imperfect. Netherlands, N. (Utrecht or Guelders), c. 1420, Dutch, by The Master of the Morgan Infancy Cycle. Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts.