Oxford has a wonderfully eccentric creature-keeping history, with charges often as notorious as their guardians. A whole book could be written about the animals of Magdalen College alone. While studying at the College Oscar Wilde would walk his pet lobster up and down High Street on a lead. The story also goes that Magdalen reclassified their deer herd as vegetables during the Second World War, in order to avoid their seizure by the Ministry of Food during rationed wartime. And in 1884 Magdalen College accepted a gift of two emus, but only one ever arrived. The surviving antipodean was a very popular College asset for two years, and ‘had its fill of admiration and petting’. When one day found dead, the cause of death was believed to be a surfeit of currant cake. A decade later American ostriches were offered but declined by the College, apparently to protect them from a Professor’s particular penchant for vivisection.

Travel 500 yards to the West and Corpus Christi are so proud of their pet tortoises that they hold an annual Corpus tortoise race, challenging other Colleges' tortoises to beat theirs to the edge of a lettuce circle.

Though no longer with us, Oxford is also home to the last real dodo, which served as Lewis Carroll’s inspiration for the Alice in Wonderland character. The specimens are housed at the Museum of Natural History.

Modern day pet seekers have plenty of options for purchase and adoption, including West Oxford Animal Rescue (Sweetman Road), The Goldfish Bowl (Magdalen Road) and Evolution Reptiles and Pets (Fairfax Centre, Kidlington). Pets at Home (Botley Road), Mr Cichlids (Cave Street), Pads N Paws (Cherwell Drive) and Pet & Garden Store (London Road) offer local options for pet care products. And of course if you're looking for a shark you need look no further than New High Street, Headington!

USEFUL LINKS

• RSPCA: advice on what you can do to help an animal in distress
• West Oxford Animal Rescue Centre: adopt an animal locally
• Oxford retired greyhounds: rehome a retired racer
• Blue Cross: pet rehoming centre in Lewknor
• www.doglost.co.uk: find yours or list one you've found
• Rescue battery hens: info on how
• West Oxfordshire Cats Protection: adopt an animal