The central figure on the shield and the animal atop the chapeau are both heraldic lions.
The pun in the full coat of arms of the Earls of Shrewsbury is that the supporters are dogs (talbots a medieval breed). There is supposedly a reference to Sir John Talbot, the first Earl Shrewsbury being referred to as "our goode dogge" by the king, but whether that is genuine or apocryphal I cannot establish. Other sources suggest a contemporary poem has the same line.
