Nick Boing has his own bungalow, complete with carpet and windows. He likes to go driving in the family car, watch late-night TV, and eat cookies. In a lot of ways, Nick is pretty similar to a typical bachelor - except for being four-legged, and much, much hairier than your average guy.

Nick is, in fact, a large ram who's somehow managed to finagle his way into a family in a suburban home in Cardiff, Wales. The homeowners, David and Caroline Palmer, rescued Nick as a young ewe, stumbling alone through the Goldcliff Nature Reserve in Newport, about three years ago.

"There were no other sheep about so we picked him up," David Palmer told the BBC News. "I didn't know anything about sheep so I took him to the nearest farm and left my name, but nobody contacted me and he came with us.

"Caroline had a baby bottle left from when Nathan was little so we fed him some milk and within an hour he was running around."

Since then, Nick has made himself very comfortable in his suburban surroundings, and enjoys wandering around the neighborhood and meeting people. When the Palmers aren't careful, Nick will also take advantage of the delicacies in their garden bed: "He's a browser not a grazer and likes to eat hedges and flowers. If he sees a rose bush he'll eat the whole thing right down to the ground."

Nick's also quite fond of visiting children in local schools, much to Palmer's surprise. "Who would have thought it? Going up and down the street with a lamb is one thing, I didn't think I could do it with a sheep but there you are," he said.

"He's such good company and he knows what's what, he's not stupid at all."

By Kathryn Hawkins