Cute, fluffy and horribly greedy

[The Woodman]

Probably feeding them on the countless unhomeable cats and dogs in the land. Now there's an idea.

[tcvarlh]

Bet the cattleman and / or shepherd has to be bloody nimble. Or an Aussie

btw I WAS deadly serious about brekkie, lunch and so on!

And an adaptation from Andestine 'That which we call a roast, by any other name would taste like meat.'

[loripo]

I hadn't thought of that Woodman! What do they feed them on

[david156]

Originally Posted by Andestine

And if it's to last two days it looks as if David's dog can relax this Christmas

I think she's safe this christmas!!

[Vectisbirder]

Originally Posted by loripo

This is an article in the NewScientist (see ditto dot com) - click on current issue, and find this title.
It quotes from a book called 'Time to Eat the Dog: the real guide to sustainable living' which works out the ecological pawprints of our 'furry friends' - or scaly ones, as a goldfish has a finprint equivalent to to cell-phones. A medium sized dog uses more resources than a Toyota Land Cruiser.
They recommend dual purpose pets like chickens as they lay eggs to make up for what they use - Not very cuddly though And you cant use chickens to go walkies either...
What do you think?

I think it's garbage. How much more b.s. are people going to come out with in the name of 'climate change'?
What would they apply to a child? A Boeing 747-400?

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by vectisbirder

i think it's garbage. How much more b.s. Are people going to come out with in the name of 'climate change'?
What would they apply to a child? A boeing 747-400?

Brilliant!

[The Woodman]

Apparently Mr Johnson feeds his eight crododiles on ex battery hens.

""What we were amazed by was how environmentally friendly it is. We can feed them using farming by products - we use laying hens which would otherwise be sent for incineration."

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by david156

I think she's safe this christmas!!

I see what you mean Might be worth the effort if you had about twenty of them

Love the guard cat. Must come in useful when there are kestrels about

Must go and clear up daughter who melted when she saw your dog. I, of course, am made of stronger stuff

Cheers,

Andestine

[harasseddad]

Lets not forget the seabird chicks starving because the sand eels they feed on have been hoovered up by trawlers for cat food. The ecological consequences of pet keeping are considerable: it's estimated that in the US cats kill over a billion small mammals a year
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/.../predation.pdf

and of course there's the St Stephen's Island Wren - the only species to be made extinct by a single individual
BBC - h2g2 - The Story of the Stephens Island Wren

[richnfamous]

Originally Posted by Andestine

I often wonder how many people went through similar emotional conflicts during the war, and what we’d go through now if faced with having to slaughter our pets or starve? The past shows that when faced with extreme circumstances we can all behave quite differently.

I suppose we'd revert to what we used to keep dogs and cats for: dogs to help us hunt, kill vermin and to deter intruders, and cats to keep the rats and mice at bay. Our relationship with animals was probably a lot more practical than now.

In Finland they say that if the farmer's wife dies, he shrugs it off, but if his horse dies, he mourns Maybe the only animal people really bonded with was the horse, as he worked alongside us?

[Vincent86]

My parents still has pigs and chickens in their place but I can't raise either of the two here in my place so I'll stick with my dog.

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by richnfamous

I suppose we'd revert to what we used to keep dogs and cats for: dogs to help us hunt, kill vermin and to deter intruders, and cats to keep the rats and mice at bay. Our relationship with animals was probably a lot more practical than now.

Quite probably correct. Pets are very much a luxury item. But can you imagine the changeover period? Just thinking about it has me rolling in the aisles

Imagine trying to teach David's cutie how to hunt......and to hunt what, exactly

And Persian cats trained to be ratters, and race horses shackled to a plough....and what on earth could we get the hamsters to do to earn their crust! My god, I think there must be a book in that

What would make you laugh the most, richnfamous?

In Finland they say that if the farmer's wife dies, he shrugs it off, but if his horse dies, he mourns Maybe the only animal people really bonded with was the horse, as he worked alongside us?

And the moral of this story is never marry a Finnish Farmer.........or be reincarnated as his horse

Andestine

[richnfamous]

Originally Posted by Andestine

What would make you laugh the most, richnfamous?

Hamsters - the Hamster engine. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (anyone remember them?) already solved it: Phineas coupled a load of hamster wheels together under the bonnet and put amphetamine in their water. Not sure how practical that would be, tho...

No hamsters were harmed during the production of this post

[Andestine]

Perfect! Now all the wheel-crazy pets have earned their keep, and yes, I remember the FFF brothers. I was going to post a pic, but decided against it as it might distress those of a more sensitive nature (me included!).

But do you think we've stumbled onto an idea which could save our furry friends? Do you think that anyone else might have career ideas for our more idle pets?

A.

[Norfolk Girl]

Not exactly a pet, but the illustration on my business cards is of a hedgehog making a wheel go round. This is connected to another wheel which has my requirements - brush, pencil, scissors, roller and of course - cup of tea!

[Andestine]

(I'm still trying to think of suitable jobs for budgies and terrapins........but not in tandem, necessarily. And tropical fish are quite a challenge too, but all must earn their keep somehow )

A

[david156]

Originally Posted by Andestine

(I'm still trying to think of suitable jobs for budgies and terrapins........but not in tandem, necessarily. And tropical fish are quite a challenge too, but all must earn their keep somehow )

A

Can't think of anything practical but you might earn £250 from you've been framed with the right video!!!

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by david156

Can't think of anything practical but you might earn £250 from you've been framed with the right video!!!

Don't *you* go mentioning filthy lucre too - have you any idea how hard it is to get people to accept that I really hate money

However, with creative input from an SF software engineer and a local mountaineer I have come up with an idea for giving goldfish gainful employment.

We're only at the prototype stage, but roughly speaking, imagine a washing machine that needs no power source, with goldfish on one side (with the washing) and a Pike on the other, separated by a glass panel and a blind. The Pike could be revealed to various degrees to generate different washing speeds.

I have not yet solved the problem of the toxicity of washing powder, but perhaps some of the environmentally friendly brands would stop short of putting the little workers out of action entirely.

On other fronts, canaries could be persuaded to return to a form of their traditional occupation and replace all those rather unsightly carbon monoxide detectors.

Now David, I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you could come up with something that might earn *you* that £250

Cheers,

Andestine

[david156]

Originally Posted by Andestine

Don't *you* go mentioning filthy lucre too - have you any idea how hard it is to get people to accept that I really hate money

However, with creative input from an SF software engineer and a local mountaineer I have come up with an idea for giving goldfish gainful employment.

We're only at the prototype stage, but roughly speaking, imagine a washing machine that needs no power source, with goldfish on one side (with the washing) and a Pike on the other, separated by a glass panel and a blind. The Pike could be revealed to various degrees to generate different washing speeds.

I have not yet solved the problem of the toxicity of washing powder, but perhaps some of the environmentally friendly brands would stop short of putting the little workers out of action entirely.

On other fronts, canaries could be persuaded to return to a form of their traditional occupation and replace all those rather unsightly carbon monoxide detectors.

Now David, I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you could come up with something that might earn *you* that £250

Cheers,

Andestine

Sorry!!! A thousand appologies!!!

You could spend the £250 on cross breeding a dog with a chicken and that way you could have a cudderly egg laying pet which could be taken for walkies and yet still produce food. Don't know what to call it....???

[loripo]

Q. What Do You Get When You Cross A Chicken With A Dog?
A. A Hen That Lays Pooched Eggs.

[Andestine]

Oh where *is* that 'groan' smilie

Lori, you must be able to think of a use for an idle pet?

Hibernating tortoises would come in useful as paper weights or door-stops, wrapped in tea cosies, of course

But budgies are defeating me. Any ideas?

A xxx

[davecatt]

Originally Posted by Andestine

Don't *
We're only at the prototype stage, but roughly speaking, imagine a washing machine that needs no power source, with goldfish on one side (with the washing) and a Pike on the other, separated by a glass panel and a blind. The Pike could be revealed to various degrees to generate different washing speeds.

I have not yet solved the problem of the toxicity of washing powder, but perhaps some of the environmentally friendly brands would stop short of putting the little workers out of action entirely
Andestine

In the old days before wash powder was invented they used to get clothes clean by pounding the washing with rocks.

So instead of detergent or rocks chuck in a few terapins.

Drying the washing could be speeded up by pegging it out over a cage full of hungry cats and tethering the feet of a flock of budgies to the line, the frantic flapping of say fifty budgies should speed up the drying process no end

Dave

[Jim Ford]

Mods.: This thread has become very silly indeed - close it NOW!
;^)

Jim

[Garden Carpet]

Noo no no.. dont close it.. Henry and I were just talking yesterday of the doggies having gainful employment. We didnt come up with any. Ideas for one spoilt chihuahua (long hair variety) and an excitable but aging jack russell cross. Answers on a post please

jaki and the pups

[loripo]

How about help with the shopping?