Pets and their People
Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, Oxford
11 March – 27 September 2026
When my support dog, Parsley, received an invitation to review an exhibition addressed first to him, and only by association to me, I knew we had to accept. The exhibition at hand was Pets and their People at the Bodleian Library, Oxford.
On entering the gallery, Parsley began to growl. Following the direction of his dissent, the cause became clear: a black-and-white cat was reclining on a bench, purring contentedly. But this was no real cat, but rather a toy of the kind often used with dementia patients. Evidently it was real enough, however. As its purr turned to a miaow, Parsley’s growl crescendoed to a bark. It took a good while to convince him of his mistake. I found the cat a little creepy – as, indeed, he probably did – although I think as a child I would have loved it.
Read the full review here