Pets

Not quite class pets

Students cite more enjoyable lives from pet ownership

Tanner Guillot guilltan000@hsestudents.org

During an average day at FHS, one student will encounter numerous students, all with developed personal lives. A part of many students’ post-school lives includes caring for their family’s pets. A large variety of pets hide in the lives of students, ranging across a multitude of species. “I have a chinchilla named Leonardo de Caprio, a leopard gecko named Yogurt, a tortoise named Lightning and two dogs [named] Agnes and Edith,” sophomore Ian Strauss said. It is important to acknowledge that pets are not for everyone. Beyond just personal taste, many people have allergies to certain animals, or simply do not have the time or budget for one. Pets present the responsibility of maintenance and require a notable time commitment, regardless of the animal. “Two or three hours of [my sisters’] week is spending time on their animals,” Strauss said. However, many students have developed a fondness for pets due to the advantages they can have. According to the National Institute of Health, having a pet can bene t one’s mental health, serving as a source of comfort and companionship. Pets are also stated to reduce rates of anxiety and other forms of stress. Additionally, many nd animals fascinating and wish to learn more about how they live. Strauss seeks this in less traditional animals. “In the future, I really [want to] own a capybara and a prairie dog,” Strauss said. is fascination with animals has led to a variety of characters entering families in Fishers. For example, junior Jenna Curtis lives in a house with two cats, named Kitty and S’more, the latter named for the colors of her fur. While many domesticated cats primarily live indoors, these two are largely outdoor cats. “Kitty has a routine where he comes in for 30 minutes, demands food and to be pet and then goes outside for six hours,” Curtis said. “When one of them is outside, the other one tends to want to go outside as well.” Curtis also lives with her sister’s bearded dragon, Pumpkin, a solitary and still animal, which has similarly led to some antics. “One of S’more’s habits is that she likes to get up on the o ce chair, and then stare at Pumpkin through the glass,” Curtis said. “We have to constantly take her down from there and put her in another room since she also likes to paw at the glass.” Strauss spoke about his family’s vast array of animals, ranging across both mammals and reptiles. “It’s like [having] our own little zoo,” Strauss said. “It gives me more options and they’ve all had their personalities,” Strauss explained the stories behind each of his family’s pet names. As animals have more leeway with their names than humans do, not being able to understand language, many families name their pets a er items or characters in media. Animals also exhibit strange characteristics which make them prone to humorous names. “Leo was named by my sister, who… was really into Titanic,” Strauss said. “Yogurt is from a movie that my family likes called ‘Spaceballs’ which is a knocko ‘Star Wars’. Lightning is named that because he is surprisingly fast for a tortoise, and the dogs are old lady names.” While pets can be uncontrollable, this is what many nd engaging in them. As animals, they represent nature and chaos, yet they still show compassion towards humans. is companionship is the ultimate value which human-pet relationships represent. “When I’m around [my pets], they’re nice, they make me happy,” Curtis said. “[My pets] better my life.”

Illustrations by Tanner Guillot