At various stages in his life, Byron kept monkeys, goats, a crocodile, eagles, horses and badgers as pets
Pets don’t get enough credit for their supportive role in the literary world. Take Toby, for example. This Irish Setter may have played a key part in the success of John Steinbeck’s classic novella Of Mice and Men, yet no one ever mentions him.
The writer started again and Of Mice and Men went on to become required reading for generations of school goers. As for Toby, he got a spanking with a flyswatter for his troubles, instead of being rewarded for helping the writer to produce a better book.
“She doesn’t answer the phone,” he helpfully explained. “She is a dachshund and can’t reach it, but she wouldn’t answer it even if she could, as she has no interest in outside calls.” “He used to love to sleep with Father on his bed, having had a succession of owners who were invalids, preferring an indolent life,” she explained. But when the poet perked up again, the cat was very discombobulated. “As Father got better, the cat got suicidal and jumped out of windows until he was given to a blind sculptor.”But when it comes to writers and pets, Lord Byron takes the biscuit – the dog biscuit, obviously.
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