Find the perfect companion for you and your family
Breed: Birman Temperament: affectionate, docile Maintenance: medium Cost: $480 Lifespan: 13-15 years Recommended for: families According to Buddhist legend the Birman breed was created by a Burmese goddess. The legend tells of a colony of white cats living in a...
Breed: British Shorthair Temperament: placid Maintenance: low Lifespan: 15+ years Cost: $350-$500 Recommended for: adults, elderly History British Shorthair cats are thought to be the descendants of the first cats bought to England by the Romans more than 2000 years...
Breed: African Lovebirds Temperament: active, noisy Maintenance: low Cost: $25-$200 Lifespan: 10-15 years Recommended for: anyone History Lovebirds acquired their name because of their fondness for sitting in pairs while preening each other’s feathers. African...
Red-back Without Red Back Red-backs (Latrodectus hasseltii) are usually glossy black, with a distinctive red/orange stripe on the abdomen. However, it is not uncommon to find variations on this pattern. Don came across a red-back without any red on its back at all....
Snails, Slugs and Slime Snails and slugs are very successful members of the mollusc family. They have brown or grey, soft, unsegmented bodies and two pairs of retractable tentacles on their heads. Slugs have an obvious ‘saddle’ or mantle, while snails have...
Jamieson the Trick Horse Horse trainer Steve Jefferys wrote to Burke’s Backyard to tell us about his black stallion, Jamieson. Jamieson, aka ‘Spud’, is a 7 year old Australian Stock Horse. He has a huge repertoire of tricks including: counting...
Maurie Don introduced a new member of the Burke’s Backyard team Maurie, the Pug puppy. He spent his first night in a box beside Don’s bed, so whenever he felt lonely Don was right there to comfort him. Like all puppies, Maurie is a bundle of mischief. He...
Problem Dog Roger the Red Setter is a fun-loving dog, who is also headstrong, easily excited and frantic around guests. Roger rampages through the garden, breaks plants, digs holes, barks incessantly at parrots that visit his backyard, and will not respond to normal...
Ralph Obituary If you thought that something was missing from this week’s program you were right: it was Ralph, the pug. Sadly, Ralph passed away on December 19, 2000. The cause of his death is not known, but it was possibly snakebite. Ralph was born with the...
Dog Mat Rita Hill created a soft, fleecy mat for her dog. Sparky needed a medium-sized mat, but it’s easy to change the dimensions to suit the size of your own pooch. Dog Bed Sizes (includes 3cm seam allowance) Small 76cm x 56cm Medium 76cm x 106cm Large 96cm x...