Little George

One Thursday evening, a homely scene of emptied plates on the floor and lovers embracing on the sofa.
F: “All right, you can have a pet if you want.”
D: “But you'd want to kill and eat it.”
F: “No, I mean it, you can have a pet and I won't kill it.”
D: “Really?! Are you sure?”
F: “Yes.”
D: “Where did that come from?”
F: “It's a part of you to and it's mean of me to deny you that.”
D: “But wouldn't you mind having a pet?”
F: “No, I think I would quite like it, actually.”
D – jumps up from the sofa and starts hopping through the room like an excited child - “Whoop Whoop! Hurah! I can have a pet! We're going to have a pet! Thank you Freddie! Thank you so much!”

A couple of weeks later, I'm proud to announce that we've got a bunny. George is five years old and brought to us by the RSPCA after being rescued from a cruel home. Isn't he just the cutest thing in the world? I fell in love with his picture immediately, but the RSPCA had to disappoint me because I need a letter of confirmation from my landlord that I can have a pet.

Now, our contract says we're not allowed to keep pets, but upon signing it Freddie asked whether it was okay to have a small pet like a hamster or a rabbit in a cage.
“Yes,” the estate agent replied, “that's fine. No cats, dogs or chicken, but a rabbit is fine.” Unfortunately, they couldn't write a letter to the RSPCA to confirm this, though, because it would contradict the contract and cause legal problems. When I explained the situation, the estate agent said: “Can't you just get a bunny from a pet shop instead?”

But I wanted to do a good deed, help a mature animal looking for a good home instead of buying a new baby that wouldn't have any problem whatsoever finding a family. We almost got two guinea pigs from the Guinea Pig Rescue, but changed our minds when it was pissing down with rain and I couldn't figure out which bus we would have to take to get there. The prospect of carrying two guinea pigs and a cage through the rain was, to say the least, unnerving. Also, the guinea pigs we had our eye on were called Einstein and Darwin - which didn't feel right because one of my previous guinea pigs was called Darwin. I know Schopenhauer didn't have any problem whatsoever in calling his new poodle Atma after the first poodle Atma died, but I'm not Schopenhauer.

When I saw the new Honey Waffles ad, I even contemplated getting myself a Honey Monster. The ad is the new production of Garth Jennings, who also directed the endearing children's film Son of Rambow and the hilarious Shaun of the Dead. I almost went to Tesco's to get myself one, when I realized that I didn't want to have to fight over my cereals with my pet. Also, Freddie doesn't want serious competition when it comes to being my biggest-mess-maker.



I kept checking gumtree, but had almost abandoned the whole idea of getting a pet when I got a call from the RSPCA. Whether I was still interested in George. Hell yes! Was he still there? Yes, he was. Instead of asking for a letter, they offered to call the estate agent. This time, a verbal confirmation was good enough. Last Thursday, they visited my place to see whether it's suitable for keeping a bunny and today, he's moving in. I hope he'll be as happy with Freddie and me as we are with him!