Join us as we hear from a man who walks his goat like a dog and parrots who go on shopping trips with their owners.
Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00Britain is a land home to all sorts of animals, from the fox to the Loch Ness monster and
00:10even massive cats if you believe the theories.
00:13Though today we're not looking at any one pet in particular, no we're looking at pets
00:19or animals, that's animals you may not own but who might pay you a visit, which are either
00:24weird, wonderful or both.
00:27So sit back, get ready and strap in for a cuteness overload as we journey into the world
00:33of weird and wonderful British pets.
00:46I'm Anne and this is Spider and we've got two macaws, Blue and Gold, Chester and Green
00:54Winged Macaw, Charlie.
00:57We first took these on about two and a half years ago, a friend of ours put us in touch
01:03with somebody that was involved with the Safe Haven Refuge, where we got them from, and
01:09we went down to have a word with the chap about taking on two to start with and Charlie
01:14did have a partner, his name was Al Wood but sadly he passed away last June, so we took
01:19Al Wood and Charlie on first and then two weeks later we went back and fetched Chester
01:25and so we had the three of them quite comfortably.
01:29When you're taking a macaw on, it's like taking on a two to three year old child.
01:33The Blue and Golds are renowned for being the clowns of the macaw family, so he gets
01:40up to all sorts of tricks, doesn't he?
01:43If we have a delivery, a package in a cardboard box, he'll take hold of them and he loves
01:49going into a cardboard box and chewing holes in it and if Anne's doing any potting with
01:55the plants and things, he'll stand on the table and he'll take an empty plant pot and
01:59he'll throw it off the table.
02:00When we take the birds out together, sometimes Charlie on his own but quite frequently now
02:06both of them, the places we go to, they're like B&Q, Screw Fix, they've been to the opticians.
02:14We go to one of two garden centres on a regular basis, so they're welcomed.
02:20Everywhere we do go, they're welcomed.
02:23We've never been told, no, you can't come in.
02:26So that's what we get up to, right, anywhere we can take them, they can come.
02:32Chester does talk a little bit, he'll say, hello, hello Chester, hello Chester Parrot.
02:40If I want him to come to me and I say, come on, come on, he will say, come on, come on,
02:47he's just said hello now and if I'm eating and he wants something to eat, he'll say,
02:54want some?
02:55Won't you?
02:56And when he comes to Charlie, Charlie will say, hello, hello Charlie, sometimes he'll
03:04sit there and he'll go, Charlie, hello, hello Chester.
03:10Hello Chester Parrot.
03:11Hello, you can take a nice one, good boy.
03:16They're wonderful, they're noisy, they let you know that they want their routine, but
03:22at the end of the day, they're part of our life, they're like kids and we just enjoy
03:27having them around here.
03:40Hi, I'm David, this is Boo at my feet, he's having a rest after a bit of a walk, Boo's
03:54ten years old, I've had him since he was born, he was born in the pen, I got his mum for
04:00milk and she came pregnant with Boo.
04:09We were expecting two girls, we got one great Boo, but he's very useful because he keeps
04:15the foxes off the chickens and he likes his walks and he entertains everybody else on
04:21the walk as well.
04:33So I started walking Boo when he was about a year old, I noticed he had a slightly dodgy
04:39shoulder so I was keeping it stretched and keeping it exercised.
04:43His mum didn't like walking, she used to sit down and then sort of go onto her elbows when
04:48she tried to take her for a walk, but Boo was quite happy to go for walks and people's
04:57reaction, it really cheers people up, it entertains Boo, it keeps him exercised, but people find
05:02it unusual.
05:03I told one lady, I said it's a horned dog, and she said, but it looks like a goat, I
05:07said, okay, it is a goat, but generally either people walk straight past and Boo feels very
05:16perturbed about that or he gets the attention and he loves the attention.
05:24So he's surprisingly good on the lead when he's walking and although he does like his
05:32shortcuts and he likes to know his route back, but I think he's a lot better on the
05:38lead than a lot of dogs are.
05:46When he meets dogs there are three reactions that he gets, one, the dog ignores him or
05:55the dog's interested or the dog starts to bark, on a couple of occasions I've had a
06:00few dogs dancing around him, but he shows them the horns, I mean he's never contacted
06:07the dogs, but he likes to keep them in eye shot, horns, they're all getting a bit excited.
06:19So I take him out on designated routes, you've got to register a map of routes where he walks
06:28and that is after the foot and mouth disease. I feel slightly aggrieved at this because
06:33the goats on the Great Orm wander into the Azzurra or so in Clandudno without a goat
06:38walking licence, but it does allow me to take him out and about every day.
06:43When Boo's out and about he's fascinated by most things, slightly scared by horses, we
06:49have some big horses occasionally come through the park, but everything else he finds quite
06:53fascinating and his ears go forward and he loves to see these things.
06:58On Christmas day I took him for a walk with a reindeer conversion kit which consisted
07:04of a set of antlers on a headband and it was the centre of attention, apart from one person
07:14who walked straight past him, he was quite upset about that I think.
07:17Yeah, Boo loves his walks and I keep taking him for a walk whilst he's happy to walk around
07:24and he'll continue to keep entertained and to entertain everybody else.
07:34I'm afraid he treats barking with contempt, you know what he's like.
07:47Hide you, hide you, hide you, hide you, hide you.
08:06They are quirky, they are funny, they have their own personality.
08:12Amazing, you get the really huffy, grumpy ones which I fall for straight away because
08:20I want to bring them out of it, I want to help them.
08:24And then you get the friendly ones that run all over you, they're like hamsters with spikes,
08:28some of them.
08:29We currently have Rossy who is a baby, he's about 15 months and we have Neve who I've
08:39had about two and a half years, I've had her since she was little and I adopted those
08:44two and then I've got Mikey who's a permanent foster with happy quills, unfortunately he's
08:49too old to be adopted out.
08:52They're nocturnal so the earliest you see them out is probably about seven or eight
08:57o'clock in the evening and then others don't even come out until about three or four.
09:02Mine tend to wait until we've gone to bed and then come out so that I don't bother them.
09:08They love running around in the vivariums, we let them run in the living room, they run
09:13in their own and then out the castle that we've put in there.
09:17The little houses are dolls houses, Huffy Pops housing, they painted and built some
09:24of the other ones and they have their own wheels.
09:29We've made them two levels because they do need areas to run, we've found that one level
09:36is great when they're old but when they're young they like to run around.
09:41And they do some really quirky things as well like the toys.
09:45We had Dennis, unfortunately we've lost him recently but he likes a little mint cat stick
09:51that I got him, he'd pick it up and shake it like a dog rags a rag, so yeah he'd pick
09:58it up and shake it and Mikey likes to take his toys to bed, he lifts them up and carries
10:03them upstairs, I find them upstairs.
10:06They're African pygmy so they need constant heat and that means even if I bring them out
10:12here I have to have them in a hot blanket or a hot microwave pad.
10:18How common are they to keep as pets in this country?
10:22At the moment they're getting more and more common, especially in the Somerset South area
10:28There's quite a number of people that are, and we've got currently many many members
10:34on the Happy Quills site now that are keen to adopt and foster them and some of them
10:40are sponsored, the permanent ones get sponsored, so yeah we've got quite a lot of members at
10:46the minute and they all want to join in, they all want to do it.
10:50It's National Dally Rally Day, so it's held this time every year and it's done predominantly
11:02as a fundraiser, so I do volunteer work for Dal Nation Welfare, so we get as many of the
11:07Dal Nations together for this as the North West Group.
11:09We're probably looking on round about the 60 mark, so at the moment.
11:14Not quite 101 but very close.
11:16Very close, yeah.
11:18They love the water, they love the beach, they just love a good run and on the whole
11:22they are very sociable dogs.
11:28They're high maintenance, they're a Velcro dog, they do do hearing tests for the six
11:32weeks old, so there is a predominantly deafness and some can have a restricted diet because
11:38of obviously the stone formers, but as you can see they're very energetic, quite a bit
11:44of work goes into them, constant training but they're so lovely, such a lovable dog.
12:14Hi, I'm Hayley and this is Willow.
12:16She's my pet wallaby that I hand reared when I was working as a veterinary nurse.
12:20She was brought into my work to be unfortunately put to sleep.
12:23Although she was healthy, her mum had rejected her from the pouch and she still needed to
12:28be fed.
12:30So for six months she was in a man-made pouch that I made and fed her with milk whenever
12:45she woke up really and she's lived with us ever since.
12:48So she lives in a house full of animals, she can come and go in the house as she pleases.
12:53She's got a best friend called Ethel in the garden who's her rabbit friend and she's
12:58really just one of our family.
13:16Good girl.
13:21Chaotic house as usual, isn't it Willow, that's okay.
13:29Showing all the cushions.
13:32Good girl.
13:34That's a good girl.
13:59Good girl.
14:01Good girl.
14:02Good girl.
14:27Hello darling.
14:29Hello darling.
14:31Hello you.
14:34Have you come to see me have you?
14:38Come on then.
14:39What have we got then?
14:40What have we got?
14:41Yes I know but you cannae get my jeans.
14:44You come in.
14:45Shall I tell you?
14:46Come on then.
14:47Where do we go?
14:48You come in this way then.
14:50Eh Fox?
14:54No you cannae get that.
14:56Where are we going then?
14:58Eh?
14:59Come on then.
15:00Come and show me then.
15:02Eh?
15:03Come on then.
15:06Eh?
15:08Come on then.
15:10Come on then.
15:14Come on Fox.
15:16Hello darling.
15:17Hello Fox.
15:19Hello Fox.
15:22Hello you.
15:23What are you doing?
15:25Eh?
15:26Come on.
15:27Hello.
15:28Are you pleased to see me?
15:29Eh?
15:30Oh look at you.
15:31Eh?
15:32I know.
15:33What are we doing then?
15:34Eh?
15:35What have you got?
15:36What have you done?
15:37Eh?
15:38Eh?
15:39What have you got?
15:40Eh?
15:41You're going to get all wet.
15:43Eh?
15:44Eh?
15:45Eh?
15:47No.
15:48Eh?
15:49Eh?
15:50Come on darling.
15:51Come on then.
15:52Come on.
15:53You come in.
15:54I know.
15:55I know.
15:58Come on then.
15:59I know darling.
16:00I know.
16:01I know.
16:02Eh?
16:03Come on then.
16:05Come on let's go and see.
16:06Come on then.
16:07You come in.
16:09Good girl.
16:10Yes I know.
16:11Stay there now.
16:12I know.
16:13I know.
16:14I know.
16:15Yes I know.
16:16I know.
16:17I know.
16:18I know darling.
16:20Oh dear.
16:22Eh?
16:23Oh look at you.
16:25Eh?
16:26What's going on then?
16:27Eh?
16:28What is it then?
16:30What's up Fox?
16:31Eh?
16:33What's up Fox?
16:34No, no, no darling.
16:35Just stay there.
16:36Stay there.
16:37No, no.
16:38Stay there Fox.
16:39Stay there darling.
16:40Stay there Fox.
16:41Darling Fox.
16:42I know.
16:43Come on.
16:44I know.
16:45Stay there.
16:46Stay there.
16:47Stay there.
16:48No, no, no, no.
16:49Stay there.
16:50No, no.
16:51There you go.
16:52Hello Fox.
16:53Hello Fox.
16:54Hello Fox.
17:00Newfoundlands are working dogs and they historically were used by fishermen in Canada to jump in,
17:08help pulling the nets in when they were fishing, and then they would use them for the land
17:12based activities, for pulling carts to market, to then sell the fish.
17:16So we basically re-enact those types of activities.
17:20On the water side though, with the training, the dogs have got this natural ability to
17:23who want to help people in the water.
17:26We help them get the confidence in the water
17:28and then do all sorts of activities
17:30such as swimming out to people,
17:32towing them back for rescue,
17:34swimming out to boats, taking a rope,
17:36towing a boat back to rescue.
17:40So we start off with the obedience work in the ring.
17:43So that obviously gives you the relationship with your dog
17:46to be able to give them the commands
17:48to do left and right turns, to do stays, downs, waits.
17:52And that builds up to when you actually start
17:54attaching the cart so you can tow the cart safely.
17:56And you go on things like, they're called a haul,
17:58where you have a cart that's weighted
18:00with different weights, different objects.
18:02And you go on sort of like a mile to two mile hauls
18:04where you're taking the dog, pulling the cart
18:07and you have to get over different obstacles
18:09like get through gates.
18:10So obviously the dog has to stand and wait safely
18:12while you go and open the gate, pull through
18:14and then close the gate afterwards.
18:15It's like having two miniature ponies
18:17coming in and biting to live with you.
18:19So there's a lot of work involved and a lot of mess
18:22but also a lot of love, they're most loving dogs.
18:24A lot of slobber.
18:25A lot of slobber, yeah.
18:26That's something that just becomes, it just disappears.
18:28We like to call it Newfie glitter.
18:30It sounds a little bit better than the slobber.
18:33Very good, very good.
18:35Yeah.
18:49So is this your pigeon then?
18:52Yeah, yeah.
18:53And does he have a name?
18:54No.
18:56He doesn't?
18:56No.
18:57So what do you do when you're here with him then?
19:00And how old is he?
19:02He's this year's young'un.
19:07And how many pigeons have you got in here?
19:08I've fetched 37, to show you.
19:11First is my club show.
19:14Go there every fortnight.
19:17So this is your real passion, is it?
19:19Oh yeah, yeah.
19:20And do you raise the pigeons?
19:21No, no, they're just kept to show.
19:24They don't get out of the loft,
19:25they're just in the aviaries.
19:27So what do you love about pigeons?
19:31I love riding the choppy end.
19:33And have you bred any?
19:38We're just here for the, just about a craic
19:40and meet a lot of friends and stuff.
19:45We'll just go tomorrow and look at the birds
19:47and meet friends, a few beers at night, some nice food.
19:51So it's just about the atmosphere as well?
19:53Atmosphere, aye.
19:54And what attracted you to come today?
19:57Well, the pigeons.
19:58And do you have pigeons of your own?
20:00Racing myself.
20:02And how many do you have?
20:04140, 150.
20:06Too many.
20:07And you race them all?
20:08Yeah.
20:24We only keep them as pets, so we sort of like,
20:26yeah, we rescue wild ones and we keep
20:29the racing pigeons, but we don't release them or anything.
20:33We just keep them purely as pets.
20:35So how many do you have?
20:36We've only got 15 of them at the moment.
20:39What kind of pets do they make?
20:42They're just relaxing birds, really.
20:46I think they're misunderstood,
20:47people think they're pests and stuff,
20:48but they're just really nice animals.
20:51We're looking at getting things like medication
20:53and things because it's hard to get a hold of
20:55and you've usually got to order it from abroad
20:57and we know there's going to be some
20:58Belgium and Dutch companies there,
20:59so we'll be looking to keep some stocks up,
21:03accessories, and possibly bid on a couple of pigeons,
21:07you know, for stock as well.
21:11I know it is and let's get into it.
21:28I'm going to show you a picture of one of the pigeons.
21:31This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:33This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:35This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:37This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:39This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:41This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:43This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:45This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:47This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:49This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:51This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:53This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:55This is the one that I'm going to show you.
21:58Mew!
22:00Who's it?
22:02Do you want a biscuit?
22:04Do you want a biscuit?
22:06Who's a biscuit?
22:08What's this?
22:10What's this?
22:12Got a snuffleglut?
22:14Got a snuffleglut?
22:20Must be sticky.
22:25Mew!
22:25Must be sticky.
22:27Must be sticky.
22:31Go!
22:35Mew!
22:38He's a strange bird.
23:08And that is that.
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