common, uncommon house pets receive student affection
Freshman Ewan Lang owns uncommon Tibetan terrier Not many can boast of a foreign, relatively uncommon pet; freshman Ewan Lang is one of a select few with his outlandish canine, a Tibetan terrier, hailing from Nepal.
“[They] were used as companion dogs for Tibetan monks, until a English lady brought them back [to England] and started breeding them… now they’re getting super popular,” Lang said. His family decided to get a Tibetan terrier because “My parents needed a hypoallergenic dog and someone said they were family friendly.”
When Lang first got his dog, they had a staring contest. “He just sat in his cage for two hours and stared at us, and we stared at him. Eventually, we leave the room, and he comes out and pees all over the floor.” he said, shaking his head at the memory. “He [also] liked to bite my sister. He would bite anyone, if you didn’t know him.” Despite the terrier’s lack of bladder control and tendency towards domestic violence, Lang has a profound admiration for his bearded hound “He’s really smart, he’ll find ways to climb on top of countertops, rip bags open. He’s never been one to fetch or play with toys, he’ll take stuffed animals and rip them apart,” Lang said with a smile.
Junior Alena Porter enjoys spending time with her large, awkward tortoise named Barney, who is an essential part of her family. "My dad got her when she was just an egg about the size of a quarter, and now she’s about the size of a watermelon," Porter said.
Sophomore Alena Porter describes life with a tortoise as a pet When thinking about tortoises, large, wise, tranquil creatures, wandering in pools of calm water come to mind–these gentle, beautiful herbivores seem unlikely pets for city-dwelling citizens. However, sophomore Alena Porter has grown up with a female, twenty-five year old African Leopard tortoise named Barney, along with a dog named Lizzy and two cats: Spunky and Leo. “My dad got her when she was just an egg about the size of a quarter, and now she’s about the size of a watermelon,” Porter said, “We keep her in a giant horse trough with heating pads under it, heating lamps over, and rabbit pellets on the ground. There’s also a wire mesh covering to keep out the cats.” “[She’s] a very easy pet to take care of…she can eat rabbit pellets, but her favorite food is tomatoes. We can give her leftover lettuce or greens, and she hasn’t ever been sick in my lifetime,” Porter said.
Despite her affection for Barney, Porter wishes she had a more active pet. “She doesn’t do much…it’s kind of awkward to hold her in your lap, and she isn’t as affectionate as a cat or dog might be,” Porter said. “[But] I love her, she’s awesome.” Porter enjoys making others squirm with her peculiar pet “It’s fun to have guests hold her, because she can be held but people are scared cause she’s kinda big and awkward. They’ll be like ‘No, no no…I can’t.’ It’s really funny.”
Photo submitted by: Alena Porter
Sophomore Ross Kirby owns an adorable hedgehog named Stella. "A lot of people have dogs and cats, [having a hedgehog] is like going to the zoo every day," Kirby said.
Freshman Ross Kirby, senior Katherine Jones both own hedgehogs Among the classic cat, dog, and fish lovers, only a few dare to adopt these quirky, miniature mammals, otherwise known as hedgehogs. Senior Katherine Jones and freshman Ross Kirby are two among these fearless owners, who battle hedgehog flu and clingy (also spiny!) pets, while bearing affection for their little counterparts.
Senior Katherine Jones is known for her atypical pet, Spikeroni, a female African Pygmy hedgehog. Spikeroni has brown quills with white fur and doesn’t require much maintenance compared to most pets. “[She] needs some space to run around, water, and food. Hedgehogs are allergy friendly, and some people in my family have allergies which is why we got her…they’re dust resistant, something like that,” Jones said.
Spikeroni also likes to roll up into a little ball of spikes spontaneously. “I don’t know any other domesticated creature that can do anything like that… it’s pretty adorable,” Jones said. Jones has spent the last three years with Spikeroni, “She’s like a middle-aged hedgehog now,” she said with a laugh.
“When we first got her, she sniffed everything, kind of like a dog…I’ve tried to bathe her, she tried crawling up the walls of the sink, she’s kind of a grumpy little thing,” Jones said. Once, when Spikeroni looked sick, Jones took her to a small animals veterinarian. “[Spikeroni had] flu for hedgehogs,” she said. “He [the vet] prescribed a children’s medication, and there was a big pink bottle of it in our refrigerator for weeks.”
Freshman Ross Kirby also has a prickly companion named Stella. “[It was] my sister’s idea, she wanted a pet no one else had… a lot of people have dogs and cats, [having a hedgehog] is like going to the zoo every day,” he said. “[The hedgehog] is kind of like a hamster. [She] stays in her cage for the most part and runs through tubes and on a wheel.”
Kirby’s shared many fond memories with his hedgehog. “Once, Stella crawled up my pant leg, right below my knee, and couldn’t crawl down–[she] got scared, her quills got stuck because they wouldn’t go back in or smooth out,” he winces, recalling the memory “I had a really, really, hard time getting her out.” However, for Kirby, having a hedgehog as a pet isn’t all fun and games: “We can’t go to Petco and buy hedgehog food; we have to order it online,” Kirby said “We made a commitment and we have to follow it through.”
Photo Submitted by: Ross Kirby
Sophomore Andrea Olson fell in love with her horses at first sight. “I loved him right away, he was the prettiest horse. He needed a lot of training but I knew he had the potential to be really competitive," Olson said.
Sophomore Andrea Olson expresses affection for pet horse Every little girl dreams of having her very own stallion, straight from the pages of Black Beauty; riding horses through glimmering, dew-covered grass, feeding little cubes of sugar to long-legged colts.
For sophomore Andrea Olson, riding horses is more than a childhood fancy; she has two of her very own, both of which she has had for over eight years. “I board them at a different barn… I’ve always loved horses, so did my mom,” she said.
Despite the amount of space horses can take up, Olson didn’t have many difficulties with taking care of her pets. “I could keep them at my house if I wanted to. I have a barn and a fence in my backyard,” Olson said. “My family loves animals [and] we’re just that type of family…I [also] have two dogs and two cats.”
When Olson first met her horse, it was love at first sight. “I loved him right away, he was the prettiest horse. He needed a lot of training but I knew he had the potential to be really competitive,” she said.
Olson found her horse, Tux, online and went to see him at his stable at the suggestion of her trainer. While he “wasn’t at the level where we wanted him,” her mom surprised her by buying Tux for her. “I almost cried, I was so happy,” Olson said.
Although Olson loves her horses, she doesn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with them anymore. “Hockey’s kind of taken priority over riding, cause that’s what I want to do in college,” she said. “When I get older, I want to pick it up again… I am very privileged to have had the opportunity to ride.”
Olson also competes in pleasure shows with Tux. “It’s basically the judges scoring you for how your horse moves, how well you can control him… last year I was showing against Pinto horses from all over the country, mostly from the Midwest,” she said. “There’s horse people, dog people, hockey people. When you compete, you meet people who are interested in horses just like you.”