''L. T.'s Theory of Pets'' is a horror short story by American writer

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

. It was originally published in the 1997 limited-edition collection '' Six Stories''. In 2001, it was released as an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

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, England. 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 G ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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

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 (dubbed "The Axe Man") is on the loose in the area, who kills women with an

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

. 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 Pau ...

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

"L. T.'s Theory of Pets" at StephenKing.com
* {{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