churchill's pets

Turns out Winston Churchill was more pet-enriched than I thought. A while back I posted about his requirement that there always be an orange cat named "Jock" at Chartwell; I like that a lot as you may imagine. Here now a few more facts-and-quotes about this brilliant and savvy man who yet placed great value on animal companionship:

Churchill had a pet called "Rota." -- a lion given to him by an admirer which was housed at the London Zoo. Late in life Winston had a green budgie called "Toby."

When his daughter's pug felt poorly:
Oh, what is the matter with poor Puggy-Wug?
Pet him and kiss him and give him a hug.
Run and fetch him a suitable drug.
Wrap him up tenderly all in a rug.
That is the way to cure Puggy-Wug.

One evening at Chequers the film was Oliver Twist. Rufus, as usual, had the best seat in the house, on his master's lap. At the point when Bill Sikes was about to drown his dog to put the police off his track, Churchill covered Rufus's eyes with his hand. He said, "Don't look now, dear. I'll tell you about it afterwards."