Inquiring readers,
While Jane Austen referred to dogs in her novels, no mention was made of one living in the various houses she inhabited even when she settled in her last productive years in Chawton Cottage. After Mrs Austen’s death in 1827, Cassandra, who remained in Chawton Cottage, kept a dog as her companion. It seems the dog had two names: ‘Link’ and/or ‘Scout,’ depending on the source material. I haven’t read a description of the dog itself – whether it’s a purebred or a mongrel, or of the color of its fur or special markings, or how Cassandra acquired the dog. Link/Scout will forever remain in my memory due to this description:
She had a dog called Link, who, family story claims, would accompany a manservant to the farm at the end of the road to fetch milk; on the way back, Link would carry the pail of milk in his mouth. (Jane Austen’s House)
Such details are precious. Constance Hill (writer) and her sister, Ellen (artist), took a pilgrimage from the U.S. to England in order to visit all the places where the Austens lived. Their book with its lovely illustrations was published in 1902. (Jane Austen: Her Homes and Her Friends). When visiting Chawton, the sisters chanced upon an elderly man, who vividly recalled Cassandra and her dog, years after their deaths. It was he who mentioned his memory of Link to the two delighted sisters, whose book became an important resource in the early 20th century for Austen scholars.
While Jane Austen never had her own dog, she mentioned them or referred to them frequently. Author Eliza Shearer wrote an interesting article entitled Dogs in Jane Austen’s Novels for her blog. I had no idea how often Austen incorporated dogs into her stories to flesh out her characters, such as Willoughby:
In ‘Sense and Sensibility’, Sir John Middleton is incensed when he discovers Willoughby’s true nature, perhaps even more so because he has just given Willoughby a precious present: a puppy by Folly, his favourite hound.
Shearer goes on to mention that Willoughby’s choice of a rich wife over love was his road to unhappiness. After bidding Marianne goodbye, the only tiny bit of happiness he felt was in breeding hounds.
An article in Reddit discusses more animal species in Austen’s novels than dogs, although this comment is notable:
“Lady Bertram’s Pug (Mansfield Park): This pug highlights Lady Bertram’s idleness and misplaced priorities, as she fusses over the dog while neglecting her children” (Reddit).
Shannon Winslow featured a cartoon in FaceBook of a cat & dog discussing which of their species Jane liked most. The dog argues that Austen is “Definitely a dog person – she wrote “Scents and Scents ability,” with the cat countering “But she also wrote “Purr-suasion.” Click on this link to see the cartoon of Jane writing in the background as the pets argue. It’s a wonderful cartoon which I’m not sure is in the public domain, therefore the link.
Let’s just say that Jane and Cassandra and their family in general largely understood that animals were for labor – sheep dogs to keep their flocks in order and work in tandem with their shepherds, cats to hunt rats and mice, cows to produce milk and steers for meat, horses for sport and transportation, chickens for eggs and stews, and yelping hounds that led hunting parties for sport to kill foxes. The sights, sounds, and sustenance of animals were part and parcel in the background of their lives.
The last link I offer is to a rather long article I wrote in 2021 about Animals in Jane Austen’s Novels. While detailed, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
