My World: The house is starting to resemble Noah's Ark

I like animals.

I have grown up with a mother who owns horses and loves cats. I had a dog when I was younger too.

A few years ago I bought my girlfriend (who is animal mad) a couple of goldfish as a Valentine’s Day present, they are still alive and well, but I was happy to keep them as our only pets.

However, these last few weeks our two up two down house seems to have turned into a rehearsal space for a performance of a Noah’s Ark sketch!

A budgie and a dog have joined us at home. Ok, that might not sound like a lot of pets but when you struggle for space for two people to live comfortably and then you add a puppy and very messy bird to the equation, it becomes a little too much.

The reason we have accumulated this small collection of animals is that my girlfriend’s family seem to all take their annual summer holidays at the same time.

For the last two weeks we have had my girlfriend’s mum’s budgie Willie, while she suns it up in Tenerife.

But he is not your ordinary budgie. He is angry, aggressive and very loud. It’s true what they say, that pets take after their owners...

He goes back ‘home’ today, but last night her brother brought round their Yorkshire Terrier while him and his family enjoy some time on the Isle of Wight.

The yappy puppy has been with us one night so far and I am more tired this morning than I have been in a very long time.

Demanding attention and chasing his tail, Bucky didn’t sit down all night.

Constantly getting up to see what he was doing in the next room, letting him out so he didn’t make a mess on the carpet and telling him to get his head out of the bin has taken its toll, and there’s still another two weeks to go!

On top of this, I had a call when I got to work this morning from my girlfriend saying he had been sick in the living room.

My girlfriend is loving it and finds my lack of patience hilarious, often encouraging Bucky by laughing at him and stroking him.

If this is the acid test for us getting a furry friend of our own, then the first night hasn’t been a good start.

Saying all that, he is exceptionally cute...