Cats – Rosa the Grande Dame of the house
Everyone loves the animals, each with their own personality and story.
Rosa our tabby cat was the first resident pet, who simply turned up one day expecting to be fed.
In Spain, they say ‘You don’t choose your cat, your cat chooses you.’ The cats love being fussed over and will often come and join you while you’re having a quiet time.
Goats – Poly and her wonky nose
Polly and Pepe were our first goats, they came from a neighbour who wanted to give them a nice home.
We had to clear the land when we arrived which was full of brambles. It turned out the goats loved eating all the plants we cleared, so they were a huge help. They were also quite lovable. Polly was easy to recognise as she had a distinctly wonky nose.
Goats love eating banana skins that the children bring after breakfast. They also love eating our roses and vegetable garden which happens when they escape. Not so good!
Pigs – Did Cheryl find love in the mountains?
Cheryl and Beryl came from a litter in the next valley. They were tiny little things when they arrived and fast moving, sometimes able to run up the stone walls. It was difficult to catch them if they escaped and they were heavy if you wanted to pick them up. Cheryl escaped a few times and then one day we just couldn’t find her. There are reports of a family of little back pigs running around in the wild close by.
Maybe Cheryl found love in the mountains?
Donkeys – Naughty Manuel
Lupita the brown donkey was from another neighbour, a mature single man who would pose for his Tinder profile with Lupita. He got a lot of interest from the ladies. Whether it was Lupita or his handsome looks is something we don’t know. When Lupita came to live with us, she didn’t have any friends. The ponies kept to themselves. Beryl wasn’t interested. So we brought her a friend, Manuel from a local donkey sanctuary.
Manuel was a handsome boy with high spirits. He was head strong and wilful and used to eat Lupita’s food.
He also used to escape when he found a break in the fence and caused trouble with our neighbours. We noticed a lot of breaks in the fence before we realised that it was Manuel breaking the fencing himself and escaping!
Manuel had to go back to the sanctuary and has since been happily re-homed.
We now have Josep, a white donkey who is much more gentle and friendly.
Click to continue ‘Multi-generation holidays – are they a good idea?’
