Tel 01962 885100 or 07789 192375

Our Animals

Torla our Chocolate Labrador (born sometime 2000)

We don’t really know her age, as she is a rescue dog, she was used for breeding on a puppy farm in Wales. She is a really lovely docile dog at home, whether on her own or with any of our boarding dogs.  She spends much of her time in her basket just inside the front door.  She has a Labrador's joy for food.  In days gone by she has had the odd grumpy moment with other dogs, particularly with other labs. These days she is much more laid back. She will let out the odd bark and the next minute she is happily sniffing with the other dogs. In the last couple of years she has discovered play and we have had great joy watching her bounding around. We have had her since 2004 and she is totally ruled by our cat (Humphrey), which makes us laugh. Torla is a “mum” to many of our visiting dogs.

Humphrey our gorgeous puss  

We brought Humphrey home from holiday with us! We holidayed in Devon in 2004 on a very beautiful  farm, the owners were selling up and Humphrey was surplus to requirements, for the week we were there he adopted us, terrorizing the children as he was a very angry cat back then. I told the farmer’s wife how he followed us around and she asked if we would like him, I always said if I ever had a cat he would find me. So we brought him home, over the years he has graced us with his company he has learnt how to purr and even sit on our lap (he doesn't want too many people to know that). He is much happier now we think its because he gets all the best sleeping places unlike his life before where he lived outside. His many pleasures in life include sleeping in one of his many favourite places, watching the birds in the garden from under the bush and terrorising the poor dog! He is a constant joy to have around.

Tiggy - our Princess

Tiggy was born in November 1996 and came to us in January 2010.  She came with three teeth and a spritely demeanour.  We also soon discovered that she had a bark that came from her boots which seems in stark contrast to her dainty looks. Tiggy is very responsive to the front door and chooses to spend a lot of her time upstairs (on our bed if she can weedle her way in).  That said she enjoys a walk and is quite capable  of holding her own with the other dogs.  As I type this I also realise that she is none too keen on thunder or lightning.  She is also keen to keep an eye on what the bunnies are up to!  Despite two strokes in January 2011 she has returned to her old develish self and sometimes we think she maybe more mischevious than before.

The Bunnies

We now have five bunnies. The eldest is Bernie, he came to us from a family whose children had grown up and they wanted him to go to a new home where he would have more company. He is a beautiful rabbit he is dark brown with a very wide head Bernie is our most friendly bunny, he has a lovely nature. Number two is Frosty his birthday is in December and he is pure white hence the name, our vet thinks that he is brain damaged and may not see very well but this does not stop him from finding his food bowl or getting very cross if he is not feed first. Then there is Misty she is our lady who was brought to keep Bernie company as Frosty then lived with Poppy (who passed on) but unfortunately she got a little over zealous with Bernie and bit his bottom. So she was moved out and now resides with Frosty as he is much younger and can give as good as he gets! Bernie now has a retirement home all to his self to live his dotage in peace.  Recently we have adopted Rumble and Fudge (who came from St Francis Animal Shelter.

Alfie:  Will’s Giant African Land Snail

Alfie was Will’s pet snail and we recently lost him. He was very big and had to be fed regularly. He enjoyed climbing his cage and swimming in his water bowl. When Will first had him he was the size of a garden snail and we picked him up in a Chinese food box from the 12th Winchester scouts. He has been through several different cages but in the spring of 2011 the years finally caught up with him.  Strange as it may seem we miss his presence in our home.  He was a big character who really liked being around people.

Hamsters

The trouble with Hamsters is they do not live very long.  We now have a special memorial area in our front garden border.  We started with Tommy and Nibbles, the Chinese hamsters, who were followed by our three sisters who were Russians. These were followed by two Syrians; Tango and Indy, who lived separately.  Tango was followed by Wispa who is still with us.  At the same time as Wispa we did get a second one called Pumpkin but she inexplicably died after only a month. Our hamsters have all given us many hours of entertainment and Wispa continues in the same rich vein.

Fish and others

We have a tank of assorted cold-water fish. One particular Goldfish that we have had eight years plus, his is very greedy and rather big. We also have a large variety of garden birds that grace us with their beautiful presence. We have two nesting boxes; in the spring it’s a joy to watch the blue tits, great tits, long tail tits or green finches checking them out. One of the boxes is designed for Robins but our Robins would rather nest in the ivy on the fence, which puts them great risk of of death by Humphrey.  Last year I had to cut lots of holly to make a barricade around the nesting area, thankfully it worked and the Robins went on to nest again (but still not in their box!).  This year Kathryn has installed a nest box with camera but we haven’t received a tenant yet!