Pets at Catlin Gabel School

By Ayaan Sait ‘24

Collage of CGS Pets by Ayaan Sait
Pictures of Pets can be found here

A few weeks ago at an assembly, a Kahoot was held following a CatlinSpeak panel. The winner of this Kahoot, sophomore Lexi Ye, was able to pick a topic of an article to be written, and this article will be the choice. I will feature some members of the Catlin Gabel School (CGS) Community and their pets.

Seventy percent of US households own a pet. That equates to around 90.5 million families. This is an increase of 67 percent from 2019, meaning a lot of people decided to get pets during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Approximately 69 million households own a dog, with cats coming in a close second with 45.3 million households owning one.

Milo Stout ‘24 is a part of this demographic. His dog, Lucy, has now become a favorite at CGS for her visits as a therapy dog.

Stout described the process of Lucy becoming a therapy dog. “We took her [Lucy] to puppy classes and the teacher said she had the right temperament to become a therapy dog. After that, my mom followed up on it and made it happen.”

*Lucy on a visit to Catlin Gabel. Image Courtesy of Instagram @lucylabpdx*

Lucy’s days are filled with visiting CGS, other schools, and healthcare facilities. If not those activities, she “goes on walks, plays in the backyard with us and or one of our neighbor’s dogs, or takes naps,” said Stout.

Some students at CGS, like Senior Campbell Swaim, own many more pets than just a dog or a cat. “I have 2 dogs, Ollie and Lily. I have 2 Nigerian Dwarf Pygmy Goats, one named Auggie and Wesley. I have eleven chickens, and I have a pig named Sebastian,” said Swaim.

Auggie and Wesley looking at the camera, photo by Campbell Swaim ‘24

Swaim said it was hard to stop getting more pets. “It’s hard to resist taking home even more baby chickens when you already have a chicken coop set up,” said Swaim. She also described how the chickens had been very helpful to her family because they produce eggs.

“Owning pets can teach responsibility, and I think there is a lot of good in owning a pet,” said Swaim. There is much data to support this. According to an article by Michigan State University, owning a pet as a child can teach trust, responsibility, and passion.

However, Swaim believes that the real value of owning a pet is the “joy and happiness that they promote.” “If I see my dogs or any of my animals doing anything silly, it brightens my day. Getting to pet them and be with them is a really fun experience,” said Swaim.

Stout shared a similar sentiment. “Lucy’s impact has been brightening people’s day-to-day experience at Catlin, ”said Stout. She has been at Catlin [CGS] more because of how much people love her and want her there.”

Junior Lauren Kim added “I would say that I am much happier, relaxed, and less lonely every day since she (Kat) joined me. So I would say that for everyone, having a pet can give you a sense of companionship or a sense of belonging since they need you.”

CGS’ love for Pets is demonstrated in the yearly Pet and Plant Day. Initially a lower school tradition, it was brought to the Upper School by then-sophomore co-class President John Dilorenzo,4 in the 2021-2022 school year.

“It was the first year after we got back from COVID, and we didn’t really have any new things going on because everything that year was an effort to bring things back to normal. So I thought that it would be cool to bring this tradition back to the Upper School,” said DiLorenzo.

Students were able to bond and be together and play with each other’s pets. DiLorenzo said, “I thought the year I ran it was a success, and it went quite well.”

“I think in general it [Pet Day] creates a sense of community bonding. People are being led into other people’s lives. You get to see someone’s pet, which is a part of someone's life you don’t really know much about, and learn more about that person,” said DiLorenzo.

Swaim commented how she participated in a lot of Pet Days in lower school and is happy that they have returned.

In the years since, planning Pet and Plant Day has become the responsibility of the Freshman co-class presidents. It has become a tradition that every student can enjoy, and it seems that it is here to stay.

Sydney Perlewitz ‘27, freshman co-class president said, “The plan for pet day is similar to last year's where we will bring in our pets at the second half of the day, and have different designated pet areas. We will have awards for cutest pets, looks like their owner, and other categories.”

If you want to learn more about someone on campus, ask them about their pet, and here’s a slideshow featuring some Catlin students' pets.