Victorian Times is back!

Free monthly E-magazine
Find Out More
Sign up today!


   

Explore over 12,000 Victorian articles
BY TOPIC / BY MAGAZINE

Discover thousands of Victorian images in our CLIP ART section!

Search
VictorianVoices.net:



America
America - Regional
Architecture
Britain
Business
Children
Christmas
Civil War
Cooking
Crafts
Education
Etiquette & Entertaining
Fashion
FASHION IMAGES
Folklore
Garden
Health
History
Holidays
Home
Inventions
Issues
Life
London
Military
Music
Native Americans
Nature
Objects
People
Pets
Recreation
Royalty
Science & Technology
Servants
Sports
Statistics
Transportation
Women
Work
World

VICTORIAN FICTION COLLECTION

Welcome
HOMEABOUTSTORECLIP ARTCONTACT


Just in Time for the Holidays:
Check Out Our
Victorian Christmas Cards!


Victorian Pets & Domestic Animals

The Victorians loved pets. Perhaps that's why the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (now the RSPCA) was founded years before any such programs were formed to protect children! In a world without automobiles, it's not surprising that the horse was often as beloved a companion as a dog. Cats, on the other hand, weren't terribly popular as pets, and an 1891 article wonders that anyone could "love" a cat. But the definition of "pet" often went far beyond dogs and cats. Many Victorians had quite a menagerie of exotic pets. Naturalist Eliza Brightwen wrote several articles about the wild creatures that passed through her home, including a mongoose and a stag beetle. And of course magazine readers delighted in getting a glimpse of royal pets.

The Strand, in its constant quest for articles on the odd and eccentric, covered many performing animal acts, from a dog orchestra to diving horses. Animals also "worked" in some unusual jobs; dogs, for instance, served as smugglers in Gibraltar and as ambulance assistants in Germany.

One thing is certain - in Victorian times, "a dog's life" wasn't necessarily a bad thing!

The Victorian Pet
Organizations & General Care Tips
Dogs
Cats & Cat Lore
Pet Birds
Bird Stories
Royal Pets & Domestic Animals
Unusual Animal Companions
The Marvelous Menagerie of Eliza Brightwen

The Victorian Farm, Barn & Stable
Horses & Other Beasts of Barn & Stable
Managing Poultry
Beekeeping & Other Animal Husbandry

Animals at Work, on Stage and on Show
Working & Performing Animals; Animal Shows
The London Zoo/Zig-Zags at the Zoo

Victorian Views of Animal Behavior
Animal Behavior: Observations & Anecdotes
Animal Actualities: True Animal Anecdotes
The Marvelous Menagerie of Eliza Brightwen

See also...
Animals in London
Nature for articles on wild animals and birds

Visit Our Victorian Shop
for:


Books


Coloring Books


Beautiful Spiral Journals


Holiday Greeting Cards

Find out more about the magazines used on this site
PDF files on this site are best viewed with Adobe Reader 9.0 or later. Download Acrobat Reader free.
Copyright © 2024 by Moira Allen. All rights reserved.
Please read our Privacy Statement.