Animal World

Sparks, as you can see is a black and white Staffie. He was seven weeks old when I got him and he is now four years. He is gorgeous; he loves everybody and everything, including all other dogs. For the first year or so he would chew everything he could reach and some of the furniture still shows marks from his sharp teeth. Early on, I took him to obedience and socialisation classes and he loved them. The only problem was that he spent most of the time playing with the other dogs and little time learning obedience. However, he is now reasonably obedient, providing he also wants to do what you want. At the training sessions, he hated the agility circuits and it usually ended up with me jumping the obstacles and him running round them. He delights in selective hearing particularly when he doesn't want to be distracted from his current activity. He loves to play games with tennis balls but does not like giving back a ball he has just chased and fetched and he loves chasing his tail.

Isabella, or Bella for short, is a little podgy black Staffie. I acquired her when the family that owned her decided to sell her as she was hyperactive and unsocial. I have had her for two years. She has settled down and now is very sociable indeed. She eats everything she can, even the cats’ food, hence her shape. She is a lovely dog but can be a bit moody, especially with other dogs as she seems to like some and growl at others. If she doesn’t want to do something, she literally digs her heels in and refuse to move. She will not go for walks with anyone but me but she does enjoys them although they often turn out to be a search for food. She enjoys digging holes in the garden and burying bones in them. Unfortunately, she seems to forget where she has buried them

Cleopatra, Cleo for short, is a small mainly white fluffy cat with some black markings. She came from a cat sanctuary having been found in very poor condition. She is now getting quite old and prefers to stay upstairs and sleeps in the bay window in my bedroom. She will occasionally go for walks outside but only in good weather. She then likes to sleep in a little house built specially for her on top of the coal bunker. She is a loving cat who likes attention and she totally ignores the dogs and they ignore her.

Samson is a beautiful black cat with a white chest and stomach. I got him from our vet's when he was taken there with a badly damaged front leg after presumably being hit by a car. He was operated on and his leg stitched back. Nobody knew who owned him so the vet suggested that I take him as company for Cleo. Sam, much of the time, thinks he’s a dog and plays and sleeps with the dogs. He is happy eating the dogs’ food but also has a great liking for cat treats. He has watched me go for walks with the dogs and now likes to accompany me for walks round the block or to the shops.