Charles Darwin was a dog lover who believed in the power of dogs to help shape human evolution. He believed, as did several 18th- and 19th-century naturalists, that animals differed from humans mostly in degree, not kind.  In the opening chapters of The Descent of Man, and using dogs as examples, he argued that animals feel “pleasure and pain, happiness and memory.”  While he conceded that animals may lack self-awareness, Darwin asked, “How can we feel sure that an old dog with an excellent memory and some power of imagination, as shown by his dreams, never reflects on his past pleasures or pains in the chase?”

Darwin owned many dogs in his life that included “Snow,” a Pomeranian, a Pointer (“Dash”) a retriever (“Bob”), several terriers (Nina, Spark, Pincher, and Sheila), and “Bran,” a Scottish Deerhound. Darwin also came to own “Polly,” a sharp-witted Fox Terrier he “borrowed” from his daughter when she moved to her marital home. Darwin and “Polly” enjoyed a grand relationship, with Darwin teaching her to catch biscuits off her nose, and talking with her as she barked through the window at what Darwin called, “the naughty people.” Polly was even a model for illustrations that appeared in Darwin’s last book, “Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals,” including the one seen here.