Jack: The Dog Behind the Fiction

Jack as he appears in PAYMENT

A dog was always going to be part of Payment. My main character is an animal lover, an activist — and an extremist. His treatment of Jack, the dog who enters his life under dark circumstances, might raise eyebrows. But their bond is undeniable.

Dogs in Fiction

Dogs have long played central roles in novels. Buck in The Call of the Wild. The soulful reincarnated dog in James Herbert’s Fluke. The terrifying presence in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Even the rabid dog Atticus Finch must shoot in To Kill a Mockingbird — each animal deeply entwined with the human drama.

Me and Meg. We go everywhere together.

In Payment, Jack appears unexpectedly. Spoiler alert: My protagonist has just killed his owner. And there’s Jack — a collie left behind and in need of someone new. Morag ends up doing most of the dog-sitting. Her connection with Jack is gentle, loving. Different. Maybe healthier. Almost spiritual.

Why the Name Jack?

The name wasn’t random. Jack was my real dog — a farm-bred border collie I had from pup to the end. He lived for 14 short years. We were working and he was often left alone. Supposedly a family dog, but in reality he was always my dog. Only when he was old and poorly did my younger daughter manage to pet him. I think, until then, he saw her as a rival for my affection. She enjoyed this new close relationship, however brief.

A quote from PAYMENT

At his peak Jack loved herding our dozen sheep, usually beneath the legs of Bailey — our towering 17-hand grey gelding. He also had a habit of chasing Bailey’s tail and tearing it out hair by hair! Only after Jack’s sad death did Bailey grow a full-length tail again.

Enter Meg

Meg leaping for joy!

During lockdown, my partner and I took on two rescue dogs — a brother and sister A Sprollie pair (spaniel–collie cross). Mine is called Meg. This time round I am able to be home every day. I want to be her friend, not her master. We go on many adventures as companions. That idea — companionship instead of ownership — runs through Payment. The book questions how we treat animals, and even draws unsettling parallels with the history of slavery as my character works through these ideas.

Meg gets a brief appearance in the book. Just a flicker. But as I write this, she’s at my feet — five years old and full of life. Both dogs, real and fictional, have brought me joy. And now, through Payment, I have immortalised them both. Meg and Jack. My companions.

Keith

Hillsigns Publishing July 2025