Poppy, a 2½-year-old French bulldog, likes to mix with a range of animals and has become something of a celebrity in St Helier.
As well as loving people, she counts three corn snakes, a guinea pig called Snowy and a parrot among her closest friends. And the affable pooch is also the reason why two visitors travelled to Jersey after being told about Poppy by their friends.
Poppy belongs to the Morley family – Sharon (45), Tim (56), Connor (16) and Jasmine (9) – who own a variety of pets. They took in their first snake last year when a friend of a friend of Mrs Morley was leaving the Island. Following that, two more owners were looking to rehome their corn snakes and Mrs Morley got in touch through Facebook.
She said: ‘You put the snakes on the floor and Poppy sits there and stares at them and gives them a bit of a sniff. She’s like that with the guinea pig as well.
‘I knew she was a very friendly dog – she’s friendly with people, other dogs and other animals. She’s even met my sister’s parrot, who climbed down in her cage and pecked her on the nose.
‘I was a bit worried the first time I put the snakes down, but Poppy didn’t really bother with them. And the snakes aren’t bothered, either. I put one on the floor the other day and it went right up to the dog.
‘The guinea pig stays in a pen outside, but when you’re cleaning it out or get him out to play the dog will come right up to him and he seems quite happy. They are good characters, French bulldogs.’
Mr and Mrs Morley run Morley’s Clearances, a rubbish clearance service, and Poppy has become well known in the Parade area of St Helier, where the business has its headquarters. Poppy walks into town with Mrs Morley on work days and get walked by a friend of the family during the day.
She often stops by shops in search of a treat. She also enjoys trips to Tiffin and de Gruchy’s tea room while out and about. And as well as befriending a number of different species, Poppy has attracted human friends, too.
‘One lady from France met Poppy and went back to France and told her friend,’ Mrs Morley said. ‘That friend then came to Jersey to see the dog. The same thing happened with a lady from London.’
She added: ‘I was brought up with animals. I never had snakes, but I always had cats, rabbits, birds and dogs. I’ve always liked snakes. My husband knew I liked them and he saw my friend’s post on Facebook and told me there was a snake that needed rehoming.’
JERSEY’S only native snake is under threat of extinction, it was reported last year.
The harmless grass snake is the rarest reptile in the Island and is facing extinction unless measures are implemented to prevent its decline.
To raise awareness of the issue, the Environment Department, working with a number of partners, launched the Think Grass Snake campaign in July 2014.
Student Rob Ward led the campaign while working on a PhD dissertation on Jersey’s grass snakes and slow worms at the University of Kent.
The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of snakes and slow worms, and the public were urged to report any sightings of either species.
Initially the campaign focused on the west side of the Island, but it was extended to other areas this year.
Jersey has a seriously low grass snake population, highlighted by the 2007-10 national amphibian and reptile recording scheme.
It is thought that the reason for this diminished number is the decline of amphibians in Jersey, the grass snake’s main source of prey.
The poor public perception of reptiles is also believed to have had an impact, as reptiles and amphibians are feared by some and misunderstood by many.
Environmentalist Mike Stentiford said that the best way to protect and encourage the grass snake was simply to ‘leave them alone’, and stressed that grass snakes were ‘not at all unfriendly’.
