Lots of students have pets, but several students and teachers have companions beyond the typical cats and dogs.
Sophomore Cassidy Tabor has an African gray parrot.
“He is 23 years old and can talk. He can say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ and likes to call my dogs and confuse them,” Tabor said.
Sophomore Julia Dunham has a baby red-eared slider.
“She is a type of turtle and is the size of a quarter. Her name is Faith and she spends her time finding ways to climb out of her glass aquarium,” Dunham said.
Sometimes the pets are a bit bigger.
“I have a horse named Hotshot who is chestnut colored with four white socks,” sophomore Olivia Durkin said. They like to compete in horse shows and love spending time at the barn.
Teacher Mr. David Dougherty owns two Jackson Chameleons named Tito Jackson and Janet Jackson. His chameleons live in the trees inside the biome and eat crickets out of Mr. Dougherty’s hands.
“They are both a green colored with three horns on the tops of their heads,” Mr. Dougherty said. “What makes them interesting is that they change color and have independent gyroscopic eyes.”
Freshman Caraline Meluskey has a red comet chicken named Plucky. Unlike other chickens, it does not lay eggs in the winter.
Sophomore Jillian Deitrick has a black and white rat named Todd. “He spends his time eating stink bugs and scaring away my cats,” Deitrick said.
Do you have an interesting pet? Send a picture and short description to the Spotlight at [email protected] and we’ll feature your unusual pet in our next issue or online.