Many composers had pets, and most of them seem to have been dog people. Wagner had about a dozen over the course of his life. Edward Elgar also had several, and even alludes to a friend’s bulldog in No. XI of his “Enigma” variations. Beethoven formed a bond with the dog of one of this pupils he was in love with. When she rejected his marriage proposal, the canine, Gigon, followed him around that evening, comforting his wounded heart.
Sir Edward Elgar lived in Hereford, England, between 1904 and 1911. One of his "Enigma" variations was inspired by a bulldog named Dan falling into the River Wye at Hereford, and the dog is honored with a wooden statue beside the river. Billabong25/CC0
