Many of the pets take pride of place within the home: I have a budgie and I have a little dog. He’s like a little fox. I tell you what it is, if had him here now at this present moment, himself could tell you, you wouldn’t take notice of him. And he’ll turn over on his back for you to rub his belly. He has an armchair in the kitchen and he lies on it. He claims his armchair for his bed at night. I have two cats and a dog. The cats sit in the living room in the window seat, but are not allowed upstairs because they are too blinking hairy. The dog is twelve, suffers from arthritis. He has a kennel but spends a lot of time indoors. A dog was always on the cards for me, definitely for me, the bigger the better. Some animals arrive serendipitously but are no less beloved for being strays: I have four cats. They basically run the house. They are all strays. An unplanned feline family. Free range that is it. I have Louis V who is six, and the other little creature is about three. He’s a kind of rescue dog. I just got him for company, to keep the other one from being bold. They are very important, oh my God. They have their kennel out the back. They come in during the day. I love my dogs. So, I just have two. I’d have twenty-two if I was allowed! It is clear that pets were deeply implicated in the activities of the households and in the rhythm and flow of household everyday life. Domestic pets occupy space in the home and offer companionship and distraction: I have a dog at home now, where my brother that died, I got him. One of my duties is when going home on a Sunday is bringing him for a walk down the field. We all love the dog. I think pets need company you know. They’d be too much on their own here [parochial house]. Though this theme does not feature in the academic literature on home, animals occupy an important place in the hearts of participants and in their homes (and feature strongly in the photographic documentation of the artist). Animals are an important extension of family life. Living in a midlands town with the countryside literally in the back yard, all participants spoke to one degree or another about domestic pets, but also showed appreciation of wildlife in the vicinity and recalled sightings of rare birds, and encounters with bats, badgers and foxes. Displacement Finally, while place attachment involves positively experienced bonds, these bonds are tested in the face of changes. This was expressed by participants in two principal ways: concerns about the changing demographic composition of the local population, and the vulnerability of the town to urban crime. 58