animals in the loop
Of course, it wasn't just people who lived in the Avon loop. It was animals too! Mostly dogs, but also birds and even some bees. No cats recorded. But they would certainly have lived there too.
Ironically, the stories of some of these animals are preserved because they get lost. For example, Mrs Wheatley lost a parrot from Hurley Street. Meanwhile, William Stoupe from the store at 231 Kilmore Street found a parrot (not the same one, if the descriptions are anything to go by). Hans Jensen managed to lose five geese from his store - perhaps these birds supplied the eggs that were eaten from the eggcups that the Jensen family threw out?
Some residents, like the Stinnears, kept chickens. They must surely have been selling the eggs, given that they had 13 pairs of chickens (and three pigeons) when they left the loop in 1903.
Dogs were both lost and found. The Stoupes’ store fulfilled a bit of a community service in this regard, looking after and advertising dogs that had strayed. There was a six-week old puppy that had been lost, and later a Clumber spaniel and a St Bernard made their way to the store. The St Bernard had a collar and chain, so it seems likely it would have been reunited with its owner.
And the bees? They were being sold by the occupants of 7 Willow Street (possibly Alice and Thomas Bullivant).
