Faunacopia
Hello I’m sitting in a classroom, idly watching the snow pile up on the windowsill when my Behaviour of Companion Animals lecturer breaks this news to me. There are many muted splutterings and utterings in the room, declarations of mutual love between man and gerbil, woman and dog. But the lecturer stands firm, she is relying on scientific evidence and academic journals. Of course she’s wrong. Anyone who has even loved an animal will appreciate this. The mutual love, understanding and compromise between a pet and owner is a complicated, deep and passionate as any human-human relationship. The emotional capability of animals is not well-researched, particularly the human-animal bond. But any pet owner, past or present knows that their animals love them. Why else would your dog sit beside you while you cry at 3am over a failed human relationship? Why would your cat curl up beside you, as you lay with a stinking cold watching Jeremy Kyle at 3pm on a Thursday. And why would countless other animals display such blatant pleasure at human contact.
Animal scientists may doubt the existence of complex emotions and love in animals, but any pet owner can testify the existence of such love, and can probably give you ten examples of it in five minutes. And of course there is the love we feel for them. Deep and possessive. There are happy times, sad times, fun times and rough times for anyone who loves animals, as you will see in some of the following stories. But the stories are always passionate and life-changing, because animals touch our hearts in countless ways, and I can’t imagine a life without them.
- Louise xx
Contributors Rob’s talks about early morning zoo visits, and his furry family. He blogs at ohayou tokyo.blogspot.com
Michelle shares photographs of London cats, as well as her memories of past pets. She blogs at mizhenka.blogspot.com
Janette remembers an unusual bargain. She blogs at thepampered sparrow.blogspot.com
Ru talks about a longdistance relationship with her cat, Boots on page 34. She blogs at shortsmallsweet.net
Nick discusses an odd link with a dachshund and a toy on page 30. She blogs at mortenandme. blogspot.co.uk
Kailey talks about her beloved pair of cats and their personalities on page 28. She blogs at mermaidens. blogspot.co.uk
Jessica ponders the wisdom of Aloe Vera arsewipes for dogs, and the practical side of puppy owning on page 20.
Sheena explores the history of the rat, and why it’s bad reputation is undeserved on page 48.
Nisha remembers a very daring (and soggy!) tortoise rescue from when she was a child on page 46.
Contents
The Playlist 1. Louis Prima – I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song) 2.Tori Amos – You Can Bring Your Dog 3.The Cure –The Love Cats 4. Bat For Lashes – Horse And I 5. Florence AndThe Machine – Rabbit Heart 6. Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man 7. CocteauTwins – Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires 8. Goldfrapp – Deer Stop 9. Joanna Newsom – Monkey & Bear 10. Glass Animals – Golden Antlers 11. Dear Reader – Great White Bear 12. REM – Star Me Kitten 13. Cyndi Lauper – Sally’s Pigeons 14. RubyThroat – Consuela’s Newt 15.The Smashing Pumpkins – Rhinoceros 16.Tori Amos –The Beekeeper 17. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit
4
The African Unicorn
5
6
The Best Cats I have known
7
8
Bargain Basement Bunny
9
10
A Day At Ueno Zoo
11
12
The Early Bird
18
Does my puppy care about Aloe Vera arse wipes?
20
The Zen Of Dog Walking
22
23
24
26
In Praise of Cats
27
Cat Yoga
29
Morten & Me
30
Rabbits I Have Loved
31
32
Long Distance Cat
33
34
35
The Cats Of North London Models
36
My Family
37
38
40
42
44
The Turtle
45
46
Oh Rats!
47
48
Join Us!
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