We are a family of animal lovers, from the birds on trees to the largest mammal on the earth. My dad looks after my birds with the very best seeds and nuts from a company in Devon. They love my dad at that company, or the “nice little old man from the North East” as he once heard himself reffered to as. Well, he is certainly nice, not so little and I prefer the term ‘older’ as opposed to ‘old’. He is always adding some form of nut or fatty ball holder into the garden. I have an apple tree that actually has more feeders on it than branches. The squirrels and the hedgehog are fed courtesy of George too. He says it is his responsibilty. “You supply the trees and wildlife so I will supply the food.” I’m not sure I supply the wildlife but it certainly does arrive.
Moving from outside to inside we have a small variety of critters. Downstairs we have Edgar, an eight month old Degu rescued from a greedy petshop.
We have Tino the Leopard Gecko …
and then we have Ares and Apollo the aged dwarf hamsters who refuse to kick the bucket. Defying their life expectancy of 18 months to 24 months.
Upstairs, and safely packed away in my daughters bedroom are the four female degus. Noisy… thats why they are tucked up there!
Lastly we have Dragon, the rather manly named Bearded Dragon.
I went to give him a stroke the other day and he whipped his tongue out as he thought I was food. Quite apt that he belongs to my son Allen who would like everything to be food.
So that brings me nicely back to my title. It is time… to have a fur-kid enter our home and our lives. Its been 11 years since we had a dog living with us but for me its only 11 years without a dog out of 43 years. We have requirements of course for the newest member of the family….
1. It has to be a rescue.
2. It has to be a male. (I believe a male would get along better with Scruff who is a little (unfortunately named) girl.
3. It has to get along with Scruff. (see above)
4. It has to be able to stay home alone for a maximum of 4 hours. (Preferably un-crated) If crated, it must be used to it as its not something every dog likes. I would like to give a dog a good and loving home and to not have to sacrifice my furniture, doors or cushions.
5. I’d prefer no casting or as little casting as possible… (I am a tidy nut!) so only a short haired pooch will do.
6. It MUST be able to live amongst all of the above.
Are my requirements acheivable? I hope so. We are not hurrying this process. We fostered a little guy called Cupid a week or so ago for a weekend and Cupid was almost perfect. Cupid failed at No. 6… miserably. Red mist appeared and no amount of nudging or coaxing from us would interupt him where the degus were concerned. Cupid had a similar unhealthy focus on the birdies in the trees… almost flying headlong through the conservatory window to ‘play’ with them. I also think No 4 would have been an issue.
So, we’ll see what happens and keep you updated.
READERSHIP
I have no idea who reads now, if anyone does as its such a long time since I posted anything read-worthy. I’m grateful of readers and of course comments and I will try and visit some blogs too. No promises…. Lets just see. 
Jan 23, 2013 @ 21:13:48
I read! I totally agree that your dog should be a rescue and I think that males get on better with everything! We have both and our old female is a right bitch! She tells them all off and keeps them all in line but for sheer loveableness (not really a word) it’s males all the way!!
I hope you find a loveable mutt to make your life complete!
On things who shouldn’t still be alive, we have an old bird whose lifespan should be between 15 and 20 years but he’s now 32 and shows no signs of going anywhere!!
Jan 23, 2013 @ 21:22:16
haha, Jenny the hamsters are just annoying us. Allen got them, gave them to Andrea who in turn handed them to me… Pay back! Totally think there is such a word… there is now!! The dog we had for the weekend was a red staffie. He was amazing, but not good with anything other than Scruff and other humans,
32! Blimey… I hope the hamsters don’t hang on that long. xx
Jan 24, 2013 @ 00:36:48
You seem to have a small River Valley fan club. Jenny is a neighbour who kindly looks after Heidi for me at times. I am a reader and longingly looked from time to time to see if you were going to blog again. It is an act of faith that I kept a link to you on my sidebar. You house is full of strange critters. Now that you have an empty nest are you going to fill it up with more of them?
I recommend a large dog. Heidi sleeps most of the time. Other large breeds are lovely and quiet. I would love to have an English Mastiff. They were once bred for battle and guarding large estates but now are bred to be gentle giant companions for people.. There are Mastiff rescue organizations. I look forward to learning your choice in dogs.
Jan 24, 2013 @ 07:03:33
I am pleased you kept the faith Philip.. I know of at least one friend who didn’t. *cough* I know Loretta too… is she from your area. I see she commented on your FB status.
I’m not sure about a big dog. The little Staffie was perfect (almost) I don’t think I can add pics to the comments so I may do an edit and show you a picture of him. He was a kissy, licky hound! We tried to settle him in his basket at bed time. It didn’t work so we brought the basket up to our bedroom. (Basket… more like a furry floor mat with sides) He padded around for a few minutes then ‘flew’ (Silent hopper, seriously!) onto the pillows of our bed. Head down he burrowed his way under the duvet and snuggled up for the rest of the night!
I don’t see the guys we have as strange. The hamsters are the only ones that show no real personality and that may be because they are nocturnal. Edgar, the lone degu is just waiting til he is old enough to be neutered. Once done we will try and carefully indtroduce him to the females upstairs. I think female degus are much more accepting. It will be a stressful time but its the right thing to do. (For anyone reading who is thinking of keeping degus, please note, they are social animals and do not fair well being alone. They like to be groomed and enjoy grooming. (My fingers are all neatly groomed)) Dragon the Dragon is so funny. He is hungry, lazy and can make you laugh just by the way he looks at you.
I hope to add a few more entries Philip. I might show you my snow! (I know, I know… you have more!) xx
Jan 24, 2013 @ 01:47:11
Hi Daffy – I hope you find just the right dog. As a rescue, it would be very lucky, and for your family, I’m sure it would be a treasure.
Jan 24, 2013 @ 07:06:20
Hello Doris, Its been such a long while since I looked over the blogs so I know I need to check your photographs. You would quite like the photo opportunities in my garden I think. Nothing too rare but to the three or four squirrel squirreling and the Jays swooping and the Magpies leaping away in fear is quite a sight!
As for a rescue, I think we have that much love to give that it would be only fair to give to a guy who hadn’t had as much as he should have.
Jan 24, 2013 @ 02:16:44
Goodness! I knew you had a few pets, but to see a complete inventory makes me realize how challenging it will be to find a dog to fit in. But I do hope you’ll find one. Fostering seems like a great way to find out since “gets along with degus” doesn’t usually appear on a dog’s resume.
Jan 24, 2013 @ 07:08:07
Hi Nikki, Its really funny as we never even thought they would be an issue. I should have realised that using Scruff as a measure was the wrong thing to do. She is the most placid animal in the world. The dog we fostered was nuts for them! Although I can’t stress enough if we didn’t have the degus he would have stayed…. just for the kisses alone!
Jan 24, 2013 @ 15:22:42
Hello, it’s really nice to see you posting here again.
I’m sure that you’ll have little trouble finding a suitable, and lovely, dog to join your somewhat exotic menagerie.
You’ll be happy to know that I’ve added you back to my lawn lounging list. xx
Jan 24, 2013 @ 15:36:52
Hello there my old mucker! Lovely to see you. Yes… Before you know it Allen will be moving into his own home, Andrea at University and there will just be little old me and maybe a dog. Don’t worry, David hasn’t left me but I am guessing nothing will change for him. He will continue to live his leisure time in the conservatory with his glass of wine, his digital radio permanent on Talksport and his Kindle Fire HD (!!) Anyway, I digress.. I figured my blog would come in handy to document the changes.
Have I made it back onto the hall of fame after only one post! Well, I had better be thinking about the second posting pretty quick smart.
I am having an awful lot of trouble finding a suitable pet. I found a guy called Zeus who I think is perfect but he is rather hairy. I will send you a link to the website and you can have a look at the available guys now. Also look at the Dogs Found section as they become available after 7 days or so depending on the circumstances and if they are not claimed. There is a dog there found in Shincliffe, a lab type. I have my eye on him. xx