Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
It was a relief to find out Chris has Asperger’s …when he is painfully honest I don’t take it too personally
envisaged. There’s a certain idyllic idea about running a zoo but the reality is it’s hard work.
“I never knew about those problems growing up, I just grew up with a very big family of animals.
“Our house was often home to animals we were hand-raising, or orphaned animals, animals that didn’t actually fit in the zoo because dad had taken too many and they would start spilling out into the garden.
“Some of them roamed – we had leopards and tigers walking around the house. They would sleep in our beds, get in the bath with us.
“They’d mess around in the garden, we’d take them for walks on the beach. It was a very different era to now. I was fortunate to have that experience.”
Charlotte is often asked whether she and Chris will tie the knot but the couple say they are not in a rush.
And they both have responsibilities towards beloved ageing animals.
Charlotte says: “Chris has a 15-yearold poodle called Scratchy and I have Aysha, a tiger who’s 20 and who I’ve raised from a cub, as well as two giant rabbits – Otta and Abella.
“They sleep on my bed. I can’t live without my giants at all. It would be devastating for Chris to lose Scratchy and me to lose Aysha.
“The worst thing would be for us to be organising a wedding and there to be a loss – that would be difficult to manage. To us, our animals are key to our lives.
“It’s great to be with someone who understands that and I feel fortunate.”
When miniature poodle Scratchy’s twin, Itchy, died in 2016, Chris was devastated. Charlotte is concerned for him when he loses Scratchy.
She says: “Scratchy is really old. I do worry about what happens when he dies. I’m perhaps a bit better mentally and emotionally to cope with that.
“When you have them as part of your family, it is a catastrophic loss. There’s a big difference between two and one, and one and none, and for him to be in that situation would be a bit of an unknown. He’s always had the boys when we’ve been together.”
Charlotte adds: “When Chris lost Itchy he went quite inward and the grief was very much lifted on to Scratchy. “It’s going to be hard. I can’t imagine Chris without the poodles, his identity is the poodles. Similarly, for me, the tigers are a part of me. Without them it does make us feel lost.
“Who are we without the animals we have bolted ourselves to for so many years?”
You can donate toward the care of the tigers Chris and Charlotte are rescuing by sending a cheque made out to “The Wildheart Trust” to: Save the Five Tigers, Features department, Daily Mirror, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP. Or visit justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/wildheart-foundation/heartsfortigers.