Out at Bundoora Pets they’ve got all sorts of small animals for sale – kittens are particularly cute with their playful clumsy moves or their purring snores as they lay about in supa-comfy positions. There’s also a range of rabbits with big felt floppy ears, pet mice that seem to dart about like matchbox cars and of course hamsters. Apparently they are the best low maintenance option, you can even let them run round loose in the back yard and they’ll ‘home’ for the cage.

Keeping all these creatures in the confined space of a small shop though does have a down side, the cages need to be cleaned pretty regular , even so, there’s a particular tang to the air when you walk in, a mixture of droppings and wee and shredded paper, but soon the playful jibes of the kittens and the shufflings and snufflings of the rabbits and the see saw whiskers of the hamsters turn that sense pathway down in volume. She used to sell fish as well but it became problematic, so now there’s rows of pet accessories, rubber bones for the dog, pet food, small fish tanks and extension leads for the hounds.

There’s also a dog wash out back. I’ve seen a couple in there with their coats flattened out and their big pleading eyes asking the question why me? Or a silky terrier quivering on the bench as the clippers buzz nearby, looking like a kid going to the dentist who needs their hand held – all done with the utmost respect of course.. Also out the back are some breeding cages for the mice and hamsters. I know there’s some male with an appropriate name who does most of the business- Rocky I think they call him or is it Studmuffin. A fist of a hamster who looks like he knows it all waiting for his next engagement. The mice of course breed like mice and do sell quite well. I can’t imagine it myself.

Lately I have been drawn toward a kitten , but I can’t think of anywhere to put the litter, so maybe a dog is possible, a small one- Jack Russell size maybe – at least it can crap in the backyard- easily manageable. We did at one point have an Alsation here. It used to know when Louise was coming home and would run frantic up and down the stairs anticipating her arrival – how could it know two minutes before she arrived?