Angel and the Rest of My Animal Army
My very first word was "dog". I should have known then that this story would only end one way 🐾.
The five-year puppy campaign
We had a family dog called Gizmo, but he went to heaven in 2020, and from the moment I could put a sentence together I asked for a puppy. Mummy and Daddy said we had to wait until after my SDR surgery, because the two years of rehabilitation would take all our spare time and effort. Fair enough.
So I became the world's most dedicated dog-sitter. Pugs, goldendoodles, dachshunds, shih tzus — if it had four legs and visited our house, I looked after it. I've been known to tell complete strangers in the street I'd dog-sit for them if their dog was cute enough 😂. At one point I gave up on my parents entirely and started my own puppy fund — there were several pound coins in the jar.
The deal was: work hard through SDR rehab and we'd reconsider. Then my epilepsy became unmanageable and the idea went on pause, which sucked. But when things finally got to a more stable place… Mummy said yes, and Daddy didn't say no 😂.
Angel 🐶
My Australian Labradoodle arrived in May 2025. I chose her name myself — I wanted something that meant protector. The kind man at Timpson's heard I was getting a puppy and engraved her a sparkly pink name tag on the spot as one of their "random gifts of kindness", on a day Mummy really needed one 🩷.
Angel and I do puppy classes together with Guns and Noses dog training (recall is going "OK" 😂), we practise our commands every day, and Mummy calls her my physiotherapy dog because we simply don't stop — dog fields, forest picnics, garden zoomies. When I'm recovering after a seizure, she's there with cuddles before breakfast. My big dream is for her to become a fully trained Assistance Dog so she can go everywhere with me. We're working on the basics first 👍🏼.
The chickens 🐓
Angel is the headline act, but our animal army runs deeper. I keep chickens — the originals came from the amazing Densholme Farm — and collecting the eggs is one of my jobs (sometimes done from my trailer, in pyjamas).
Then there was the Great Hatching Project: an incubator, eggs, and a 21-day "lockdown". First attempt — nothing 🙈. I made Mummy order more eggs immediately. Second attempt — after 42 days of trying, TWO chicks hatched: Unicorn and Riley 🎉. I took them into school and presented a PowerPoint about how we hatched them, earning Star of the Day. The flock has since grown — welcome Mary, Daisy and Cutie — because I calculated one egg a day simply wasn't enough 😬.
Everything else with fur, feathers or hooves
Farm days are my happy place — feeding lambs at Ings Park Alpacas, animal snuggles and reindeer walking at Little Haven Farm (Sven had never seen an orange walking frame before and took it like a champion), animal therapy days with Shetland Pony and Friends, and creative days at North Ferriby Riding for the Disabled. Horses get a whole post of their own on this blog, obviously.
Mummy says animals are good therapy for me. She's right — but mostly, they're just my favourite people 🥰