As the novel’s title indicates, animals—and their relationship with the human world—are central to the novel. The complex relationship between the small town of Everton and Corbin Park, the vast and mysterious yet man-made wilderness bordering the town, is emblematic of the intricate relationship between the human and animal realms.

The animals in Hartnett’s novel are associated, for better or worse, with the natural world. Through the figure of Harold and his “haunting” of Clive, the novel suggests that animals can have a redemptive function, teaching humans how to regain contact with the natural world. There is a simplicity and spontaneity in the behavior of Moses and Rasputin, which contrasts sharply with the emotionally and socially driven behavior of the novel’s human characters. Moses, Rasputin, and The Sprite are portrayed as being capable of boundless joy, which also parallels with the children’s exuberant performance in the musical at the end of the novel. Further, Moses and Rasputin are the dying Clive’s most loyal and effective caregivers. Moses is baffled by the social and economic pressures that remove Ingrid, Auggie, and Emma from the vulnerable Clive. His animal instincts make him absolutely reliable and constant:

Moses had heard the Starlings say several times that Clive was not supposed to be left alone, and yet they all kept leaving him unattended, going out of the house, doing whatever it is people do without their dogs.