TPR conceded that since our elderly long-term lodger kept us at home much of the year, we could add to our menagerie of creatures.

I ordered online a white pet lamb, an overweight Schnauzer dog, and a little monkey. They would all live inside the house with us (and not with our flock of black Hebridean sheep outdoors).

The monkey was a useful addition. He was very skilled at recognising the names of objects, and willing to fetch and carry them for us. The other two animals just wanted to be petted all the time.