Pets/Mascots

[Highlander]

Do any stations still have a pet? Or has an overly authoritarian HSE mentality done away with this practice?

[Noddy]

Not quite the same but for a few years I took my dog to work when nobody could look after him.  A few times a month he’d come onto station day or night and sit with the watch chewing the fat.  I had a good little set up where he could be safely left when we were off station 👍

[JonFromTheLFB]

I had a charity dog I was looking after and part of the role was getting him into places that might spook or distract him. A fire station at change of watch is about as distracting place as any with all the noises and smells (especially in the morning when most ablutions are occurring!) 

An unexpected side effect of him being on station was the morale boost he gave the boys and girls. They loved having him around and it was massively beneficial to both sides. He was towards the end of his training so any shouts meant he would happily go into his cage and wait for us to get back. There was enough water and food in there to keep him happy if we were out for a while and he got regular toilet breaks whilst we were about. 

Didn't ask for permission though, went with the belief that forgiveness is easier to get than permission 😂😂

[Rory-495]

My SubO casually mentioned the offhand *rumour* that LFB were *considering* getting station dogs for welfare. Obviously not going to happen in a million years, but now if anything good happens to the watch our response is always;

"That's great Sub, but where's the f$$$ing dog you promised us?!"

[Messyshaw]

We had a rabbit on a flat roof at the old North Kensington. It lived on scraps from the kitchen

There were raised lantern lights on the flat roof giving light and ventilation to the shower room below. 

A Sub o had a suprise when a bundle of fur landed on him mid shower after the rabbit slipped and fell thru the open window in the lantern light

Rumours it was a suicide attempt by the rabbit following sexual abuse allegations by a member of the RW were greatly exaggerated 😉

[Luminoki]

 I know that Smethwick used to have chickens. Until a fox got into the yard . . .

[Carl]

Ive been watching this with interest. I have never known stations to have their own pets. Not sure how my service would view this or indeed the guys on station to be honest. 

The nearest I guess we have ever got was when we were asked if we could have a Bee Hive on station and each station had a few people who took interest. Any honey was able to be kept for the station. The reason was more about getting bees and increasing their population. Not sure of this still goes on to be honest, perhaps @Vema11 or @Mess6311 can shed some light ?

[Mess6311]

18 hours ago, Carl said:

Ive been watching this with interest. I have never known stations to have their own pets. Not sure how my service would view this or indeed the guys on station to be honest. 

The nearest I guess we have ever got was when we were asked if we could have a Bee Hive on station and each station had a few people who took interest. Any honey was able to be kept for the station. The reason was more about getting bees and increasing their population. Not sure of this still goes on to be honest, perhaps @Vema11 or @Mess6311 can shed some light ?

Funnily enough, we discussed it as a watch. We loved the idea and even thought about taking it in turns to bring our own dogs in. Not sure how the ADO would've felt about it. For those of us with dogs, we can see the health benefits both physically and mentally. But its also understandable that some people are scared, allergic or even just not interested. If you had a station pet it takes the whole station to buy into the concept.

Philips Park used to have a good supply of fish as did Gorton i believe, but as with most things over time they dont get looked after as well as they once did. 

Bee wise, Marple have a bee keeper who comes in regularly and takes care of it all. The lads dont actually do anything with them. In return the keeper gives the station a few pots of the honey when its ready as a thank you. I have a guy on my watch who keeps bees in his spare time and says that its massively therapeutic. Maybe one to consider as the world could always do with more bees.

Maybe one to put to the chief though @Carl. Welfare dogs?

[LFB92]

I see quite a few stations with fish. One in south london has piranhas!

[Carl]

I can imagine if every station adopted a dog from the local dogs home. Would certainly help them out, until the first time someone had their backside bit by one. 🤫

[Jet]

I'm considering introducing some rare and protected bat species into our drill tower, does that count?

[Mess6311]

Floated the idea of a station dog to my SM yesterday.... didn't seem overly keen! 🤣

[Carl]

I'll have a word with Owen. Im sure he is a dog owner too. Has he learnt how to make a brew yet 😂