All My Dogs Before Me

Abstract

Excerpt: "Dogs? Did C. S. Lewis own dogs?" That casual question, raised at one of the organizational meetings of the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society,1 led to a rather obscure search. Was Lewis a pet owner? It is well known that he had created two imaginary worlds filled with talking animals: Narnia and Boxen. Less well known was his opposition to vivisection. An entire chapter of The Problem of Pain deals with pain as experienced by animals. A bear at the Whipsnade Zoo, nicknamed “Mr. Bultitude” by Lewis and his brother, Warren, appears as a minor character in That Hideous Strength. The other two books in the Ransom Trilogy contain vivid encounters between man and translunary beasts (both sentient and otherwise). Lewis obviously thought well of animals. But did he have any pets of his own to nurture and deepen that affection? Yes he did, as his autobiography, diary, and letters clearly demonstrate.