Did you know Dogs are the most common household pets in the U.S.? On average 65.1 million households own a dog, followed by cats (46.5 million households) and freshwater fish (11.1 million households) –Forbes. Domestic pets have been part of human civilization for thousands of years, and to this day they are still considered a very important part of many people’s lives, so we wanted to shine the light on the pets of some of Hazen’s everyday students.

Niara the Pittie Mix

Niara is a one-year-old Pittie mix from Texas, owned by Niajah Richardson (12)’s dad, she’s quite the personality in her household. Her favorite activity is watching people through the window blinds, as in she will pull down a part of the blind like a cat to see what could be happening outside or to know the latest tea. She also likes to lounge around the house with her bed being the last option.

Even though she’s got her bed, Niajah (12) shared, “People that come over probably think she’s not being treated right because she chooses anything but her bed to sleep in.” 

She’s quite the gymnast having amazing sploots, and also quite the sleepy bug with her favorite position for sleeping being her belly facing to the sky and her favorite nook for doing so being under the couch.

Bobba and Chai

Bobba and Chai are a pair with two quite clashing personalities. This brother and sister combo comes only alike to their fluffiness. Bobba is quite the personality and his name is very fitting to him as he’s known as a stone-cold killer from back in his prime for the murder of a hummingbird and rabbits in his household. However, his sister on the other hand, “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

His owner, Evan Grimm (10), shared she enjoys being wrapped up like a burrito or a sushi roll with a blanket being one of her needs of survival even though she’s already quite the fluff ball. These two siblings are at least around or older than eight years old since their owner got the siblings when he was in third grade from one of his mom’s friends. “They were still pretty young when we got them, so they’ve been owned by someone else before us.” their owner also shared.

This silly pair also likes their TV, which isn’t a TV but a window; if a bird comes close or flies by they make a chirping sound at the birds. Whenever Bobba feels comfortable, he likes to let his belly fall to the ceiling and flex his paws like a bunny.

CJ the Cat

CJ is an 8-year-old orange cat originally from Yakima. His owner is Hana Parker (11). “When we first got CJ he curled up into a tiny ball and hid under my pillow. Now that pillow is his for the rest of his life.” CJ’s tail is also crooked and looks like a hook.

Smokey and Bandit are younger cats that are almost three years old. Smokey is a brown cat and Bandit is a tuxedo cat. “Smokey’s pupils are constantly dilated so she constantly looks like she’s in full hyper mode.” Bandit likes attention and if you don’t give him attention he will “walk up and down the hall and scream until you let him in.” Gorge is a 30-year-old turtle which is quite old for his breed. George will follow you while in his tank, “When you walk past his tank he’ll follow you. So you can walk back and forth and he’ll kinda swim with you and it’s fun.”

Thatch, Thyra, Ember, and two frogs

Rona Osburn (9) is the owner of a dog and two frogs. Ember is her almost two-year-old dog. Skipper and Dipper are both her 1-year-old frogs. Skipper and Dipper play “and sometimes just a little bit fight. I also have to separate them because Skipper likes to eat Dipper’s food.”

Ember likes to run. “She likes to do zoomies.” She is an energetic dog with tons of energy.    

Thatch is 14 and Thyra is 4 going on 5, they are both owned by Micah Miller (12). Thatch has a brown coat with a darker nose and Thyra has a black coat with white markings like a tuxedo. A fond memory Micah talked about

was, “I remember the first time we brought Thyra outside and she saw snow. She ended up jumping into the snow on two feet.” Thyra has a lighter shade of brown eyes which makes her eyes a more orangeish hue.