''L. T.'s Theory of Pets'' is a

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

short story by American writer

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

. It was originally published in the 1997 limited-edition collection ''

Six Stories ''Six Stories'' is a short story collection by Stephen King, published in 1997 by Philtrum Press. It is limited to 1100 copies, which are signed and numbered. ''Six Stories'' contains: * " Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" (later published as part of ' ...

''. In 2001, it was released as an audiobook with the recording of King reading the story live at

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in London. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection ''

Everything's Eventual ''Everything's Eventual'' is a collection of 11 short stories and 3 novellas by American writer Stephen King, published in 2002. Stories "The Little Sisters of Eluria" is part of '' The Dark Tower'' series. Story order In the introduction ...

''.

Plot summary

The story is told from the first-person perspective of a working-class husband, who recalls a story told by L. T., a chatty co-worker, about the brewing trouble behind his marriage. These problems are attributed to pets purchased by L. T. and his wife. The wife purchases a dog for L. T. which dislikes him instantly and sides with his wife. Soon, L. T. purchases a cat for his wife, which immediately takes to L.T. instead. Despite the fact that the dog and the cat get along fine, L. T. and his wife continually argue. While riding home in the narrator's car, L.T. asks if his arrogance is to blame. L.T.'s wife eventually leaves him, saying she is going to her mother's house, but fails to arrive there. The narrator reveals that she has taken the dog with her, and her car was discovered abandoned on a deserted roadside in Nevada. The only thing found was her dog, axed to death. It's revealed that a serial killer is on the loose in the area, who kills women with an axe. L.T. still hopes she is alive, although this is unlikely.

Inspiration

said his story is inspired by a ''

Dear Abby Dear Abby is an American advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name. History According to Pauline ...

'' editorial about how giving people pets as gifts may be viewed as

arrogance Hubris (; ), or less frequently hybris (), describes a personality quality of extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence, often in combination with (or synonymous with) arrogance. The term ''arrogance'' comes from the Latin ', meani ...

in certain circles, because it assuming the receiver can—and wants to—look after the pet. King himself briefly discusses how he received a Pembroke Welsh Corgi as a present, and has enjoyed its company ever since.

References

External links

* {{Stephen King Short stories by Stephen King 2002 short stories Horror short stories Short stories about dogs

Plot summary

Inspiration

See also

References

External links