Remember Nana, the dog that was the darling children’s nursemaid in Peter Pan?
Here’s a nice story about Italian Maremmas being trained to protect the threatened Eastern Barred Bandicoot. Maremmas are very big (40 kilos plus) so it gives foxes and feral cats something to think about.
This made Gert think about other useful human-animal partnerships. An octopus in a fast-food outlet? A hyena to take your kids to school? A chimp to check their heads for lice?
Any other bright ideas?
Exploring the world of ideas through books
On a Swiftly Tilting Planet
Thoughts on Literature, Expressing Creativity, Being Authentic
Some of this. And some of that.
“If you don't know ... when the lights will go out ... you might as well read." --- Clive James
Haiku, poetry, music.
many thanks for your visit!
Music means something and art is right up there too
Book reviews, poetry and all kinds of literary fun
A Blog about Music and Popular Culture
Soprano
Mostly books, with a little wine writing on the side
Book reviews, poetry and all kinds of literary fun
Book reviews, poetry and all kinds of literary fun
Gert Loveday's Fun with Books 
It’s my opinion that most humans sadly underestimate their ‘pets.’
I don’t. I’m always saying how extraordinarily gifted my cat is. I think we might be her “pets”.
Well good for you. I saw this cartoon years ago that said aliens thought cats and dogs were the superior species and that humans were their slaves since the humans went around picking up poop and working to buy pet food for the pets who spent all day lounging at home.
Exactly.
A giraffe to clean the gutters?
And prune tall trees, and annoy the neighbours by staring in their first-floor windows.
Continuing the animal-child relationship, I offer the following:
1. Spiders to sew name tags in clothing.
2. Meerkats to give warning to the tardy child when the school bus is due.
3. A marsupial (any one would do) to store house keys for the latch-door kids whose parents work.
What a cunning brain. The spiders are a master stroke, and I love the idea of a meerkat popping up by the bed of a sleeping-in kid. A marsupial also makes quite a good hand warmer or hand towel.
I meant to add that breed of dog that’s trained to eat a child’s homework after it’s been done — in some cases even before it’s been done .
It’s still winter here so I’ll now be searching out those marsupial hand warmers in the winter sales — though they’re clearly very popular as they seem to be all snapped up …
Those dogs are in great demand. I recommend the smaller marsupials : a kangaroo causes some havoc in the living room, and a wombat is extraordinarily heavy when it tries to sit on your lap.
How about a colony of ants to find where the snacks are hidden?
Leslie
You’d have to watch them very closely though or they’d also eat the snacks.
True but you’d know where they were.