By Heather Monahan
Features Assignment Editor
Most pet owners would agree that there are few things better than coming home after a hard day and being greeted with an excited, tail-wagging dog or a purring cat. Four-legged friends always make our days better by providing us with their unconditional love and affection.
“On a list of things that I miss while I’m at school, I have always missed my dogs the most,” said junior education major Regina Penepent.
Penepent is the proud owner of a male Border Collie mutt named Paddy. Her second dog, a male black Lab named Spirit, recently passed away.
“Spirit was always so outgoing and had to be involved with everything that was going on at home,” Penepent said. “So involved that he even had to have a slice of birthday cake for birthdays. Paddy is so naughty, but you can’t help but love him to death for how awkward he is.”
According to Penepent, Spirit became a member of her family the summer before her fifth grade school year and admits she was hesitant about having a dog in the house.
“Before we got him, I was completely terrified of dogs,” she said. “It didn’t take very long for me to warm up to the idea of having a dog in my house because of how fun he was to have around.”
Paddy joined the family during Penepent’s sophomore year of high school.
“My sister walked in the door holding a fluffy dog that looked almost as if he was a teddy bear,” Penepent said. “Somehow she convinced my dad to go to the local SPCA that day to look at dogs and got him to agree to pick one out.”
Penepent said while having a pet ensures that she always has a cuddle buddy, her pets are more than that to her.
“They become a part of the family,” she said. “I love that my dogs have always been there for me. They can truly sense if there is something going on in my life and they know exactly how to approach me.”
Junior psychology major Rachel Schey also said she considers her pets to be members of her family. Her family adopted their oldest dog, a 15-year-old German Shepherd-Husky mix named Tasha, shortly after they moved to Rochester. She and her brother later convinced their parents to buy their now five-year-old Siberian Husky, Stoli.
“Stoli acts like a five-year old child,” Schey said. “He seems to believe he’s human, which entitles him to food. He loves to play and run around, but he loves his naps.”
Schey said both of her dogs love to try to communicate with the family.
“Stoli and Tasha both love to talk back to us,” she said. “If Tasha is in trouble, she will bark and carry on like she’s innocent. Stoli enjoys whining and howling when he doesn’t get what he wants.”
In addition to being great companions, Schey said her dogs also provide unconditional love to her family.
“I love that my pets want everyone in the family to be happy,” Schey said. “Stoli will cause a scene, such as pawing us continuously, so we direct our attention to him. You must be in an exceptionally good mood around Stoli or else you will be forced to play with him. Tasha is very protective and doesn’t want anyone to hurt the family.”
Another Bonnie who owns two canine friends is senior journalism and mass communication major Bryan Clark. Clark said his dogs, eight-year-old Theo and six-year-old Ginny, both have unique traits.
“Theo’s tongue is long enough that he can drink water out of a glass,” Clark said. “Ginny is the only dog my family has had that goes into our basement, and shakes hands with you if you ask for her paw.”
Junior marketing major Alex Lewis’ eight-year-old Bichon Frise, Chloe, also knows a few tricks.
“She’s like a circus dog,” Lewis said. “She always jumps up and down when she wants food and she’ll shake her paw with our hands and ask for snacks.”
Lewis, who has a self-proclaimed obsession with her dog, said Chloe is perfect and she loves the benefits of having a pet.
“They’re so loving and will love you no matter what,” she said. “They love to cuddle and are such good company keepers.”
Though dogs and even cats are the most common pets, senior elementary and special education major Sharon Rogers has a different kind of pet: a small domestic rat.
“I got her last July, and she’s about 10 months old,” Rogers said. “Her name is Rapunzel.”
While her pet is a bit unusual, Rogers said she loves having a rat.
“She’s easy and inexpensive to maintain,” she said. “She’ll just sit on your shoulder or climb around. Rats are very social animals and she is very friendly. Everybody loves playing with her when they come over.”
In addition, Rapunzel provides Rogers with a reassuring sense of security.
“If there’s a scary noise in the middle of the night, I can blame it on my rat and not be scared,” Rogers said.
While pets aren’t human, most pet owners can agree their four-legged friends are still considered family.
“Pets don’t care about what kind of day you’ve had, what flaw you have or how popular or wealthy you are,” Clark said. “As long as you pet them and give them enough food and water, they will be happy.”
