Military men and religious communities have a tradition of having animal pets.
Regimental mascots are a familiar sight, ranging from an Irish wolfhound, to Welsh mountain goats and to Shetland ponies, complete with an appropriate ceremonial uniform and attendant NCO. Labradors have long been associated with officers of the RAF
Chaucer’s prioress of course had her pet dog, much, no doubt, to the horror of the nunnery’s episcopal Visitor.
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Oratorians, because of the tradition of St Philip having a cat, are keen to have their community provided with a pet cat. Pushkin, at the Birmingham Oratory became an international celebrity when he was stroked by Pope Benedict on his visit. Oxford used to have Buskin as its resident mouser as well as the Rubrics - a pair of goldfish in an outside pool who were so named because they were small, red, and largely ignored.
Medievalists.net takes us in a recent post to an interesting combination with the Knights Templar in Acre before it fell in 1291. As a community of military men organised as a religious community it is perhaps no surprise that they would have a pet, but the choice is, shall we say, distinctive. A crocodile. Yes, a crocodile - admittedly one that had been de-toothed. It could perhaps give you a nasty suck. One wonders if being appointed keeper of the Crocodile was the Templar equivalent of being assigned the short straw….
The article can be seen at Did the Knights Templar Keep a Pet Crocodile? A Medieval Mystery Unveiled
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