User:AnemoneProjectors/List of pets in EastEnders

The following is a list of pets from the popular BBC soap opera EastEnders.

Dogs
Roly is first owned by Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) and Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean). While he belongs to Sharon, he is often seen by Den's side. Roly is later given to Pat Butcher (Pam St. Clement) and Frank Butcher (Mike Reid) but returns to Sharon. He dies from being run over by a lorry. Roly was owned by the co-creator/producer of EastEnders, Julia Smith. She later felt that the dog disliked being on set and she removed him from the show. 14.8 million viewers tuned in to see Roly's last appearance on-screen.
 * Roly
 * Breed: Poodle
 * Owners: Den Watts, Pat Butcher and Frank Butcher, and Sharon Watts
 * Duration: 19 February 1985 – 10 October 1993

Roly was cast less than a week before the filming of EastEnders began. From the beginning it was decided that the occupants of The Queen Victoria pub, Den, Angie and Sharon Watts, were to have a German Shepherd named Prince. However, finding an Alsatian that was light enough in colour not to merge into the background of the set proved to be difficult. Eventually, the co-creator/producer of the show, Julia Smith, was contacted by a company named Janimals, who specialised in providing and training animals for television and films. They had found a seven-month-old Poodle, called Roly, who might still be young enough to be trained. Training was said to take three weeks, and as the Poodle was a similar size to an Alsatian, Roly got the part. Roly was made the property of the BBC, given an ID card, and taken to live with Julia Smith at her home in London. Roly and Willy the pug shared a dressing room at Elstree studios. Off-screen, the real Roly was getting too old to appear regularly on television so it was decided that he should retire to live with his owner, Julia Smith. On 2 August 1995, Roly died following an operation for breathing problems aggravated by the 1995 heatwave.

Willy is owned by Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin). Willy falls ill in 1992 and is put down. Willy had not been trained prior to starring in EastEnders. Following many scenes with Franklin the dog became attached to her. Unlike Roly, he was energetic and could take part in more scenes. Franklin has spoken about sharing comedic scenes with Willy, such as bath time and him thieving Ethel's wool. The actress felt emotional filming Willy being put down. She shed tears recalling the loss of previous dogs she had owned. She told Larry Jaffee that could not understand why the production team chose to include the scene. Willy died sixteen days after being written out of the show. Vicky Prior of the Metro has suggested that Willy was the "real star" out of the duo.
 * Willy
 * Breed: Pug
 * Owner: Ethel Skinner
 * Duration: 19 February 1985 – 1992

Albert is a puppy who is abandoned in the launderette by a girl, so Pauline takes him in and names him Albert in the hope that her mother, Lou Beale, would take to him. However, the girl's mother later turns up and explains that the dog was a Christmas present for her daughter but she got bored of him. Pauline offers to keep the dog but her husband, Arthur Fowler, insists that he is returned to his rightful owner.
 * Albert
 * Duration: 7–16 January 1986


 * Heathcliff
 * Breed: German Shepherd
 * Owner: Graham Clark
 * Duration: 16 June 1987 – 1988

Willy II is a puppy, bought by the regulars of the Queen Vic in 1992 as Ethel's replacement for Willy. She turns the dog down, saying she is too old to get attached to another dog. Willy II is originally called Snoopy but is renamed by Grant and Phil Mitchell.
 * Willy II
 * Breed: Greyhound-cross
 * Duration: 1992


 * Puppy (no name)
 * Owners: David Wicks and Sam Mitchell
 * Duration: 1996

Delilah is purchased by Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp) and Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) from Jimmy Coombes (Harry Fowler) for £100 when he says he is going to shoot her because he can no longer afford to keep her and she has lost five races, though he says if she is fed well she could race again. Sanjay Kapoor (Deepak Verma) offers to train Delilah and tells Grant and Nigel they should buy a slower dog that will lose races and then switch the dogs in a scam to win money. The scam falls through when someone realises the dogs have been swapped.
 * Delilah
 * Breed: Greyhound
 * Owners: Jimmy Coombes; Grant Mitchell and Nigel Bates
 * Duration: 17 August 1993 (Episode 891) – ?

Freda is purchased for £600 as part of Sanjay Kapoor (Deepak Verma) greyhound betting scam, to enter into races and lose and then switch with Delilah when she attracts high odds. Phil sees that Freda's feet are a different to Delilah's so Sanjay says they will paint them. After the scam falls through and failed attempts to sell both dogs, Nigel takes Freda in. After Sharon Mitchell's (Letitia Dean) dog, Roly, is killed by a truck, her husband, Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp), gives her Freda to cheer her up on her birthday. Sharon is against the idea of replacing Roly at first but quickly warms to the idea of keeping Freda. Freda later gets pregnant by fellow canine Wellard but the puppies are all stillborn.r h When Grant leaves for overseas, Freda is sent to live with Nigel in Edingburgh. Vicky Prior of the Metro noted that Grant would often use Freda in many of his scams.
 * Freda
 * Breed: Greyhound
 * Owners: Sanjay Kapoor, Grant Mitchell, Phil Mitchell, Nigel Bates, Sharon Mitchell
 * Duration: 16 September 1993 (Episode 901) – 1999

Wellard made his first onscreen appearance during the episode originally broadcast on 18 October 1994. Wellard was rescued by Robbie Jackson (Dean Gaffney) from Mr Hammond who had been mistreating him. During his tenure Wellard has fathered stillborn puuppies with Grant Mitchell's (Ross Kemp) dog Frieda and been reported for biting Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). When Robbie left the show, he was given a new home with Gus Smith (Mohammed George). A BBC Online writer describes him as "The loyal mutt [who] paid his master [Robbie] back many times over." Wellard's popularity remained following his death with many tributes being uploaded to the video sharing website Youtube. Vicky Prior of the Metro referred to him as "the undisputed king of the canines."
 * Wellard
 * Breed: Tervuren
 * Owners: Robbie Jackson; Gus Smith; Mickey Miller; Bianca Jackson
 * Duration: 1994–2008


 * Patch
 * Owner: Ronnie
 * Duration: 25 December 1998 (2 episodes)

Terrenece is a Lhasa Apso dog that is given to Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) as a present from Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick). Terrence was originally played by a dog named "Jayridge Next Edition For Zaylon". Terrence made her first on-screen appearance during the episode originally broadcast on 29 October 2001. The dog playing her is also named Terrence. A BBC Online writer as being Albert Square's "glam dog". They list her "low points" as being abandoned by Janine, nearly being sold to Barry Evans (Shaun Williamson) and being put in a dog pound by Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards). Terry had taken the dog in but soon tired of her.
 * Terrence
 * Breed: Lhasa Apso
 * Owners: Janine Evans and Terry Raymond, Billy Mitchell, Pat Evans
 * Duration: 2001–?

Blu appears only in the special episode "Dot's Story".
 * Blu (or Bloo or Blue)
 * Breed: Border Collie
 * Owners: Gwen and Will
 * Duration: 2003

Genghis is an Irish Wolfhound owned by Keith (David Spinx) and Rosie Miller (Gerry Cowper). Prior to his arrival, Nicola Methven from the Daily Mirror billed Genghis as a "comedy dog" with his own set of storylines. Jim Shelley of the Daily Mirror branded Ghenghis a "scraggy old dog". Nancy Banks-Smith of The Guardian described the canine as a "shaggy dog". Louisa Lytton who played Ruby Allen has admitted she never dared to go near the dog on set. In 2008, Genghis leaves Albert Square alongside Keith and Mickey Miller (Joe Swash). Vicky Prior of the Metro has branded Genghis "Walford’s biggest and dosiest character" and "as strangely loveable as the rest of his family". Laura Morgan from Digital Spy said Genghis has a "cheeky personality" but "looked like he was in need of a good bath", and noted that the dog "was a right sly thief, and managed to get himself chucked out of the Vic by furious Peggy Mitchell after she caught him wolfing down her buffet. It must have taken some strength too – Genghis was nearly as big as Peg."
 * Genghis
 * Breed: Irish Wolfhound
 * Owner: Keith Miller
 * Duration: 2004–2008

Originally Pauline's dog, named after her aunt. After Pauline dies, Dot looks after Betty. Martin, Sonia and Rebecca take Betty with them when they move out of Walford.
 * Betty
 * Breed: Cairn Terrier
 * Owners: Pauline Fowler, Dot Branning, Martin Fowler, Sonia Fowler and Rebecca Fowler
 * Duration: 2004–2007

Chips is a present to Ian from his partner Jane Collins and children Peter Beale and Lucy Beale. He runs away when Steven Beale leaves the gate open in 2007.
 * Chips
 * Breed: Basset Hound
 * Owner: Ian Beale
 * Duration: 2006–2007


 * Dalgliesh
 * Owner: Jack Edwards
 * Duration: 2006


 * Albert
 * Breed: Boxer
 * Owner: Roxy Mitchell

When Syd moves to Canada, Sugar stays with Liz at Jim Branning's house. Sugar is the only witness to Lucas Johnson burying Owen Turner's corpse under a tree in the Square, and sits by the tree to Liz's despair. After Liz moves to Spain, Sugar is handed over to Lucas's son Jordan. When Sugar starts sniffing around the tree again in February 2010, Lucas takes her for a walk and returns without her. It is implied that he has killed the dog. Vicky Prior of the Metro said that Sugar "found herself at the centre of national outrage" following her implied death.
 * Sugar
 * Breed: Collie
 * Oeners: Syd Chambers, Liz Turner, Jordan Johnson
 * Duration: 2009–2010

Kate White of Inside Soap branded Gumbo "adorable".
 * Gumbo
 * Breed: St. Bernard
 * Owners: Don, Bradley Branning

A stray dog taken in by Abi. In 2014, a drunk Abi runs over Tramp and kills him. Tramp appears in the 2015 flashback episode.
 * Tramp
 * Owners: Max Branning, Lauren Branning, Abi Branning
 * Duration: 2013–2015

The Carter family's dog. Tramp and Lady Di have puppies.
 * Lady Di
 * Breed: English Bulldog
 * Owners: Mick Carter, Linda Carter, Nancy Carter, Johnny Carter, Lee Carter
 * Duration: 2013–


 * Wellard 2
 * Owner: Robbie Jackson
 * Duration: 2015

Bronson is euthanised in March 2021 following illness due to his advanced age.
 * Bronson
 * Owners: Taylor family
 * Duration: 2017–15 March 2021

Ziggy is a stray dog found by Bailey Baker and Bernadette Taylor after Bronson's death. Bailey thinks the dog was sent by Bronson for them to look after but Karen Taylor insists that they cannot afford to look after a new dog and Bronson cannot be replaced. Later, Mitch Baker catches the dog and takes him home. Bailey decides to name him Banjo but he runs away when Karen enters the room. Karen then tells Mitch that Banjo must be taken to a dog's home. Mitch finds a poster for a lost dog but decides not to show Bailey. Bernadette later sees Molly (Juliette Alexandra) putting up posters saying that Ziggy is a lost dog. She tells Karen and Mitch, who decide they should keep the dog so Bernadette meets Molly and tells her she saw Ziggy being stolen. Bailey later sees a poster and decides to return Ziggy so Bernadette calls Molly and says they found Ziggy but Bailey admits that they have had him for a few weeks. Ziggy does not go with Molly when she calls him but when Bailey tells "Banjo" to go, he does. Molly allows Bailey and Bernadette to look after Banjo and when Bailey runs away from home, she takes Banjo with her. They become separated when Bailey's bags are taken and Banjo chases the people responsible. Banjo makes his way to Walford and is found by Bailey's brother, Keegan Baker (Zack Morris, with blood on him.
 * Banjo or Ziggy
 * Owner: Molly
 * Duration: 16 March 2021–

Cats
Two black kittens owned by Andy O'Brien (Ross Davidson) and Debbie Wilkins (Shirley Cheriton). Andy rescues them from the boiler room of the hospital where he works and convinces Debbie to keep them. After Andy's death, Debbie decides to give the cats away because they remind her too much of him, but Tony Carpenter accidentally traps them under Debbie's floorboards while fixing a leaky pipe. Debbie then gives Starsky to Sue Osman (Sandy Ratcliff) despite hoping to keep both cats together.
 * Starsky and Hutch
 * Owners: Andy O'Brien and Debbie Wilkins, Sue Osman and Ali Osman (Starsky only)
 * Duration: 24 September 1985– (Starsky), 24 September 1985–? (Hutch)

A stray cat, taken in by Pete Beale (Peter Dean).
 * Stray cat (no name)
 * Duration: 1989


 * Bella, owned by Rosa di Marco (Louise Jameson). But Bella was much disputed and was later taken in by Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) who renamed the cat "Tigger".
 * Mandoo, owned by Nellie Ellis (Elizabeth Kelly) and found dead under Joe Wicks' (Paul Nicholls) bed (1994–1996).
 * Baby, owned by Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) (lived with the Slater family after Zoe left). Of Baby's tenure, Vicky Prior of the Metro assessed: "While no soap feline will ever enjoy the notoriety of the Coronation Street cat, praise should go to Baby for managing to live with the Slater sisters for so long.".
 * Boots, owned by Shirley Benson (Robyn Moore). Boots goes missing, and Shirley eventually finds Boots dead inside a bin bag. Ian Hyland from the Sunday Mirror said that Boots was "Shirley's pointless cat". He quipped the only reason that they were introdced was that Jim Branning (John Bardon) could shout "pussy" around Albert Square. Ru Green of the Coventry Evening Telegraph branded Boots going missing as a "sub-standard plotlines to fill the time". Jim Shelley from the Daily Mirror questioned whether it was the "worst soap storyline ever written" He also felt that it made EastEnders horrible to watch.
 * Musty, owned by Danielle Jones (Lauren Crace) and later by Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald). When the Brannings face financial problems in December 2009, Abi gives Musty to her friend Bernadette Logan (Olivia Grant). Vicky Prior of the Metro said that Musty was an unattractive choice of name.
 * Crystal, owned by Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington) until the cat is killed by her stepfather Harry (Linal Haft). (2010) Jane Simon from the Daily Mirror described Crystal as a "cute fluffy cat" and said that her muurder made Harry "public enemy number one".
 * Neville, a stray cat found by Jodie Gold (Kylie Babbington) and Anthony Moon (Matt Lapinskas) (3 November 2011)
 * Joey, a ginger kitten found by Tiffany Butcher (Maisie Smith) and Morgan Butcher (Devon Higgs). They keep it a secret from their mother, Bianca Butcher (Patsy Palmer), though their great uncle Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman) helps them to look after it. (April 2012) A Daily Record writer branded it a case of "hard gangster turned kitten lover and doting uncle".
 * Craig Revel Horwood, Carmel Kazemi's (Bonnie Langford) cat that Shirley Carter (Linda Henry) and Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) rescue from a tree.
 * Dave, a stray cat that arrives on Albert Square. On Christmas Eve 2016, the cat gets into Stacey Fowler's (Lacey Turner) house at eats some of her turkey, forcing her to throw it out. Dot Branning (June Brown) then takes the cat in, giving it a home. She names it Ethel after her dead friend Ethel Skinner (Gretchen Franklin), though after Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker) tells her the cat is male, she says he must be "Ethel's Little Willy", after her pet dog. However, she continues to call the cat Ethel and refers to him as female, and then considers calling him "Ethel Esquire". Later Ricky Mitchell (Henri Charles) and Amy Mitchell (Abbie Knowles) ask Dot if they can called the cat Dave, and Dot agrees.

Rodents

 * Gerbils owned by Zoe Slater.
 * Rolf, Abi Branning's gerbil, who died on 23 February 2007. Abi buried him in the front garden and sung "Bright Eyes" at his funeral (2006–2007). In May 2016, Rolf is uncovered by Andy Flynn, the builder renovating the house into flats. Abi decides to bury Rolf in Albert Square gardens.
 * Marge, Abi's guinea pig, a replacement for Rolf after he died (23 February 2007-??). Bradley Branning thought Marge had been killed when a black bin bag was thrown into a workmans' fire, but Marge had actually been underneath it and later returned to the house by herself.
 * Marge 2, a guinea pig bought by Bradley to replace Marge as he mistakenly believed that Marge had been killed (31 May 2007-?)
 * Gilbert, a chinchilla Abi Branning bought after Marge died. (March 2008-?) Vicky Prior of the Metro branded Abi the "Dr Doolittle of Albert Square" for her many pets.

Other mammals

 * Chops, a pig that Mo Harris kept. She took it for walks, bathed it and sheltered it in Charlie Slater's summer house until Ian Beale tried to steal and sell it to settle a debt. Mo caught him and decided to sell the pig anyway. Chops was then taken away to be slaughtered.
 * Hercules, a rabbit that Ronnie Mitchell buys on 9 May 2016 for Amy Mitchell, saying it is from Amy's mother and Ronnie's sister, Roxy Mitchell.
 * Mr Pickles, a rabbit bought by Isaac Baptiste for Arthur Fowler on 8 June 2021. Isaac states that he once heard that pets can help children deal with grief and take ownership of something. Isaac's girlfriend, Lola Pearce, tells him he cannot just buy someone a rabbit but Ruby Allen then says Arthur will love it and Martin Fowler agrees, though says the rabbit would "make a great stew" if Arthur does not like it. Following Mr Pickles' first episode, the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) said, "We are getting complaints about the EastEnders storyline featuring a rabbit. Are we happy with this messaging the BBC is now sharing with millions of viewers? Surely all the work of the RWAF is in vain if the BBC is sharing exactly the opposite welfare message but with much greater public access." It was reported that 267 complaints were received.
 * Patricia, a pony that is a Christmas present from Janine Butcher to her daughter Scarlett Butcher, on 25 December 2021.

Birds

 * Lovebirds given to Irene Hills (Roberta Taylor) by Terry Raymond (Gavin Richards) on Christmas Day 1997. The lovebirds were supplied by Animal Ark. When not required at Elstree Studios they lived with Animal Ark owner David Manning.
 * Joey, a budgerigar owned by Dot (June Brown) and Jim Branning (John Bardon). In July 2002, Joey is accidentally killed when vacuumed up by Jim cleans his house. The Sunday Mirror's Ian Hyland believed that is was something expected of the character of "Frank Spencer from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Jim purchases a look-a-like bird to replace Joey. Hyland believed it to be unfunny, embarrassing and that Bardon looked ashamed about playing the story.
 * Unnamed budgie, belonging to Stan Porter's appeared in the spin-off Pat and Mo.
 * Robbie and Georgie, Jim and Dot's budgies, Georgie was the chick of Joey, and was set free by the E20 gang when they broke into Dot's house. Ian Hyland from the Sunday Mirror described storylines involving them as "daft"
 * Corky, a parrot, bought by Mo Harris (Laila Morse) on Christmas Day 2005. She mistakenly assumed she was buying a cheap turkey for Christmas dinner.
 * A parrot belonging to Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons). In a comedic storyline, Roxy accidentally lets the parrot escape on her wedding day. It announces her wedding and leads Roxy stranded on a roof. Naomi McElroy writing for the Sunday Mirror branded it "a turn of events that would never happen in real life."
 * Pretty, a Lovebird, owned by Queenie Trott (Judy Cornwell)
 * Frank, a parrot, bought by Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) to keep in the office at R&R, but he is only there one day before Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) let him out (2 August 2011). Naomi McElroy of the Sunday Mirror said that Phil's actions towards the parrot were a "bizarre development". The Daily Mail's Jaci Stephen believed that Frank would add comedic value and suspected that he could be used to expose residents secrets.

Reptiles
Crush is brought to Walford when Guizin Osman moves to Albert Square with her children, Emine Osman, Rayif Osman and Murat Osman, though she tells Sue Osman that she hoped she would not see the snake again. Sue is curious to see Crush, who is kept in a box, and it later escapes and scares Nick Cotton and Tony Carpenter when they see it. Sue's husband, Ali Osman, captures Crush. Later, the snake escapes in the house and Ali frantically searches the square but later reveals he found the snake in a school bag and it had not left the house. Crush also scares Dot Cotton when it escapes in the café and she sees it behind the counter, causing her to scream.
 * Crush
 * Species: Boa constrictor
 * Owners: Emine Osman, Rayif Osman, Murat Osman
 * Duration: 5 March 1987–?


 * Lionel, a python snake, owned by Sasha Perkins (Jemma Walker) (2004–2005). In one episode Tariq Larousi (Nabil Elouahabi) spends a day "cowering" in the belief that Lionel has escaped. But Sasha has taken him to the vets where he is diagnosed with animal depression.
 * Rooney, a bearded dragon that belongs to the Taylor family (2017).

Fish
Barry Clark (Gary Hailes) brings Gloria into Colin Russell's flat when Barry moves in.
 * Gloria
 * Species: Goldfish
 * Owner: Barry Clark
 * Duration: 9 December 1986 – ?

Two fish owned by Little Mo Mitchell (Kacey Ainsworth). In 2001, Paul Trueman (Gary Beadle) hosts a party but following an accident with a champagne bottle, the fish are killed. Paul then decides to secretly replace the fish with look-a-likes. Alastair McKay of the The Scotsman said they were "washed to oblivion during a riotous party". Ian Hyland of the Sunday Mirror said that the replacement fish were as "pretty and dumb" as the original set.
 * Posh and Becks
 * Owner: Little Mo Mitchell