31 March 2023

So that’s why I’m very glad to bring you this blog about National Pet Month, which starts on 1 April. It’s about celebrating the joys of having pets and promoting responsible ownership of them.

Although I don’t have any pets right now, I have had in the past – at one point, I had five cats! My children are in their 40s now, but they were very devoted to those animals and having them around always helped when they were feeling anxious about things. We had a period when one of my sons was about 13 and he was extremely reluctant to go to school. One of the cats became a wonderful bridge between how he was feeling at the time and his determination to get himself out of it.

Animals can be so therapeutic. They don’t make trouble – well, unless they’re being a bit mischievous in an attractive way! Dogs, cats, parrots, guinea pigs, rabbits, even fish…they all have it in common that they can be companions for people who are unwell, depressed or lacking in self-esteem. It’s no accident that quite often, when I visit a P3 service, there are people who have no home but do have a pet.

In turn, it’s important to look after our animals. Sadly, there are some frightening statistics to show how many animals get dumped after Christmas or after Lockdown ended and people stopped working from home.

I hope we can all use National Pet Month as a time to celebrate our furry, feathered or scaly friends and remember the importance of our responsibilities towards them.

Adam Hackett, Chair of the P3 Board of Trustees

My first dog was Aero, a German Shorthaired Pointer. We got him when my husband retired. We loved him so much but sadly, he died just before he turned ten. It broke my heart. It really is the hardest part of owning a pet. I miss all my departed pets so much, every day. But I’ve never regretted having them. You know when you get a pet that you’ll have to say goodbye some day, but you get so much joy and pleasure from them – and of course, they need good homes, don’t they?

And the day after Aero died, my husband and I were in the car on the motorway, remembering how we used to throw Aero’s red ball for him. I tossed it and said, “Go fetch.” At that moment, a van overtook and pulled in in front of us – and on the back was a picture of a German Shorthaired Pointer like Aero, playing with a red ball, and the company was called Go Fetch. I immediately felt a lot calmer and to this day I think it was a message from our beautiful Aero.

Nowadays, I have two dogs. Dante is a six-year-old Hungarian Vizsla and Diesel is two-year-old a German Shorthaired Pointer. They are my world and I feel like they complete our home. Diesel has such a funny howl. He sounds like Scooby Doo! Dante is more serious and sensitive. They’re so good for my mental and physical health – if I’m feeling said, they come for cuddles and strokes and it calms me. If I’m ill, they sit with me all day. My heart lifts at the thought of going home to them at the end of the day. Although I confess it didn’t lift the day I was slow cooking a rump steak in Guinness and blue cheese for 24 hours, only for Diesel to steal the lot. Except for the onion, which he spat out on to the floor. Still, I suppose that was less embarrassing than the time Dante stole something from one of our foster daughters’ bedrooms – a pregnancy test! Luckily it was negative…

It can be hard work caring for an animal, but oh it’s worth it. With a dog, you are never alone and that’s so important for people, including many of the people we work alongside. The joy I’ve had from my pets is the greatest gift I’ve been given.

Gill Moy, Chair of P3 Housing Board of Directors

We have a range of hens: four ginger, two black, one white and one grey. They lay brown, white and pale blue eggs. There’s no need for a rooster for chickens to lay eggs, which is lucky since roosters are very noisy! The hens aren’t, except first thing in the morning when they’re hungry. They eat grain twice a day and green vegetables such as kale and lettuce. They also need plenty of water.

The hens live in a coop (a six-sided cage designed to prevent foxes from burrowing into it from underneath) at the bottom of the garden. At night, they roost together in a row on their perch to sleep but there’s also a nesting box where they go to lay. (And when a chicken was ill once, she stayed in a cat box in the house while my wife, who is a nurse, got her better.)

The number of eggs they lay varies, but it’s connected to warmth and daylight hours. So in summer we get six or seven a day and in winter, two or three.

It’s so interesting and educational keeping chickens, and of course you get the eggs! Their beaks are quite sharp and they may peck you occasionally, so you need to be on your guard. Chickens are not overly friendly, but this is our third year of keeping them – we do enjoy it!

And then of course, there are the cats. Alfie and George (both black and white), Mabel (calico) and Arthur, Henry and Doris (all tabbies). Alfie and George are the oldest and they’re the ones who go outside; the others tend to be house cats. They all sleep in the kitchen at night.

Obviously, they all have their own distinctive personalities (purr-sonalities?). Mabel tends to be the boss cat and she’s a real daddy’s girl – she loves me! George is everyone’s favourite and gets on well with everyone, but he’s a menace around tea time because he sits next to us begging for food when we’re trying to tuck in. He’s a mummy’s boy (follows my wife everywhere!), like Henry, although Henry can be a bit aggressive towards the other cats. Henry’s evening routine is to drag his mum (my wife, of course) for a 20-minute snuggle on the bed. Unfortunately, George usually joins him and sometimes they have a fall out over it.

Doris is the youngest and tends to be a loner, but she’s playful and she’ll get more loving with time. Alfie is very calm and avoids confrontation at all costs. He can actually sleep in the same position for 11 hours without moving. Arthur and Doris like sitting in cardboard boxes, so we have plenty of those lying around.

Cats are different to chickens and so loving – the affection they give you can create a real endorphin rush. They reduce stress and anxiety and are such good companions. We are always talking to them. With cats, you have to love them first and then they will love you back when you’ve earned their trust.

Pets are commitments and you need to be sure you can care for them properly. But they are also members of the family. We wouldn’t be without them.

Ian Bebbington, Vice Chair, P3 Housing Board of Directors

I have a dog and a cat: Dude and Tosh. Tosh is called Tosh because he has a moustache (he’s black and white). So it should be Tash for his moustache, but that’s short for Natasha and he’s a boy! So he’s Tosh. He’s really friendly. Some of the neighbours have a bed for him so I say they’re trying to steal him!

Dude is a Pomeranian. He’s pretty cool and friendly, but he’s quite old now, about 15. I take him with me when I go into town. He can walk there but he struggles to get back, so we always have to take a taxi home. He’s famous too – he was on the Pets at Home website!

They get on together. They get on with my mum’s sheepdog too, although she’s the boss! I used to have a house rabbit too and they’d all sleep in the same bed together. Dude actually prefers rabbits and cats to other dogs.

When I’m sad, Dude looks after me. I have epilepsy and Dude knows when I’m going to have a seizure. He comes up and licks my face while I zone out. He’s not an assistance dog, he just knows. He’s so clever.

If it weren’t for Dude and Tosh, I probably wouldn’t want to get up in the morning. They are the best thing and I need to care for them. They’re just everything to me.

Dawn Butler, Warwickshire

Stewie, Dobby, Kisses, Squeaker and Simon

We have two chihuahuas, Stewie and Dobby, and two cats, Kisses and Squeaker. We did have another chihuahua, Simon, until about six weeks ago. He was so beautiful, the sweetest little thing. The house felt so empty when he went. He was a rescue and had been ill-treated. How could anyone do that to such a beautiful, kind-hearted boy?

Dobby is a year old and he’s a proper scatty puppy. Stewie is a bit older, nearly eight, and he’s quieter. He’s quite good with Dobby, but he does send him off when he’s had enough! We have CCTV around the house and garden and Dobby likes to watch it.

Squeaker is very vocal and shouts all the time, but he doesn’t actually miaow – he squeaks! That’s why he’s called Squeaker. He’s stopped hunting and bringing things in now, which I’m pleased about, but at night he likes to crash through the cat flap miaowing or should I say squeaking!

Kisses is a real little lady. She’s very gentle and kind, but she can stand up for herself. Dobby thinks the cats are for chasing, so she gets on her back legs and punches him! But she never uses her claws and nor does Squeaker. She’s bigger than he is. They look like tigers against him because he’s so diddy.

A home just isn’t a home without an animal. Cats are a bit more independent but they’re all just so loving and part of the family. 

Rita Sheehan and Mick Cox, Gainsborough

Tulip, Betsy, Rabo and Shadow

I’ve got two cats, a rabbit and a dog. The cats are called Tulip and Betsy, the dog is Shadow and the rabbit is Rabo. That’s short for Ribena, since I like Ribena!

I had Betsy from when she was first born. Then I got Tulip when my mum’s mate had a friend who had kittens that needed homes. Tulip really clung to me more than anything, so I knew she was the one. – The cats live with my mum at the moment because they’re quite old and as Shadow is only four, he’s all in his bouncy, bouncy, bouncy time! But Mum only lives at the back of me, so I still see them all the time and they’re very happy. I give her money for their keep and I can go over whenever 😊

Rabo is actually my mum’s rabbit’s daughter. So Mum has a rabbit and her daughter has her rabbit’s daughter! Rabo has a cage in the house and she comes out when it’s just her and me.

Shadow is a rescue. I got him a few months ago from the ex-partner of a lass I worked with. She was going to ring the RSPCA, but I said no, I’ll take him.

My pets are so important to me – they’re my fur babies! I even had two bearded dragons once. I’m a caring person and I could never see an animal without a home. Even down the alleyways I’m looking at making some little huts so animals have somewhere warm to lie. I’m thinking about doing it in my back garden too.

If I didn’t have my animals, I don’t think I’d be able to cope with my mental health. Especially Shadow. He’s very clingy when I have my breakdowns. He and Rabo both know. When I’m chilled and relaxed, Rabo will just lie in her cage, but if I’m struggling, she sits right up.

I always put my animals first. Even when I go shopping, I buy their food first. And at home, they get their food before I get mine. That’s how important they are.

Vicki Rimini, Gainsborough

They are both quite boisterous and very energetic – they like to go at things for hours! But they aren’t the same. Ralph is bit more laid back and likes to sit and watch what’s happening from a distance. Reuben is more likely to follow me around and get involved with what I’m doing. But they’re both really loving. They’re rescue cats – I got them from Cats Protection – and they are quite cautious around visitors, but they’re close to me. They’re a bonded pair, so they needed to be rehomed together. They couldn’t be separated.

They do try to bring things into the house, like rats, grasshoppers and frogs. And they’ve pulled a couple of shelves off by jumping up high. Once they smashed a ceramic pot that I was keeping money in. It was like a piggy bank – you save up coins and then have to smash it open when it’s full. Well, they smashed it for me. £500 worth of £2 coins rolling around absolutely everywhere. It was so loud that it woke my neighbour up!

But despite all this, they really are just such a great comfort and support. They’re there if I need cheering up and very vocal when they want to be fed! They aren’t clingy, but they do sit on my lap sometimes.

It’s sad to think that rescue animals probably had a troubled life previously, but now they’re with me, they’re part of the family and they’re wonderful. They always know when you’re upset and need some comfort. They’re very special.

Vanessa Davies

Support Worker, Bushbury Lane, Wolverhampton

They are all very calm usually, but in the run-up to feeding day they get HANGRY!!

I have always been fascinated by snakes and that fascination has led to being the owner of eight beautiful ones. I love that they all have their own little personalities and that most people think we are crazy for having snakes, plus they are a great way to not have many visitors round the house because so many are petrified of snakes. Haha!!

Hannah-Marie Frost
Finance Administrator