Written by Elizabeth Bradley |

Featured Image by Home Staging for Pet Owners

As you grow older, you change and in return most of our friend groups tend to change as well. After many years there’s always one best friend that sticks by your side: your pet. Whether a dog, cat, horse, gecko, hamster, chinchilla, or fish, a pet is there to comfort you when you are down, but also share in the most proud moments in your life!

I’ve noticed on social media sites how pets are becoming the topic of conversation more and more! Terms such as the “crazy cat lady” have become glorified by people our age. Senior Erika Renkl, has four cats and one dog at home. Her four cats, Sammy, DQ, Sadie, and Wasabi, have been a huge part of her every day life. I asked her what the best part of having pets was and she said, “Everything. They are cute and they get pregnant sometimes, and I get more. They are just always there, and even though sometimes they bite, it’s worth it.” Senior Sarah Dalhberg, shares the same love for her two cats and two dogs. Her cats Purdy, who is 16 years old, and Bob, who is 8 years old, have been a huge part of her life. Sarah said, “I spend a lot of time with them. My cats always sleep with me. Well, more like on top of me.”

Cats aren’t just the only pets Morgan students own! My brother, Nick and I have two sibling dogs, Diesel and Layla. They are German Shepard/boxer mixes that are about one and a half years old. People frequently ask us how we gave them their names and Nick said,”Our dogs are tough and we wanted to give them names that fit them. Diesel is a tough name, like Vin Diesel and Layla was named after boxer, Layla Ali. Likewise Bobby Pace and his dog, Corgi, exemplify the true meaning of “Man’s Best Friend.” Corgi is part American Bulldog and Pitbull. I asked Bobby what his favorite part about having a big dog was and he said, “My favorite part about having Corgi is when he runs up and attacks my friends and how he always knows when I’m feeling off.”

Unlike Sarah and Bobby, Lily Dawson has a very tiny pet, a Hamster named Storm. Although only part of her life for a short three months Lily loves her just as much as a childhood pet. Storm is a Chinese dwarf hamster that chews on feed. I asked Lily what the difference was between having a hamster compared to a bigger pet, and whether she liked it more or less, and she said, “I loved having a bigger dog to play with, but the hamster is nice because I can hold it whenever I want. There are different sides to both pets that I loved, I could never choose one or the other.”

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