Teachers’ Pets of Central

Teachers’ pets: not the ones who raise their hand faster than lightning and laugh a little too hard at the teacher’s corny math jokes. No, we’re talking about actual teachers’ pets. The furry (or hairless) balls of fun, excitement, laziness, and cuteness, that we all know and love. And yes, teachers love them too. 

Mrs. Nelson (English Lang. Learners) – Oliver 

Mrs. Nelson has a very sweet half cat, half African Serval named Oliver. You would think having a savanna cat would be difficult to train, but he knows a bunch of commands (like come, sit, stand, and walk on his hind legs) and how to play fetch. A fun fact is that he LOVES cheese!

 

Ms. Koehler (Math) – Ribbitt and Knox  

Ms. Koehler has two pets, Ribbitt and Knox. Ribbitt was found as a stray and got her name, because she hopped around only on three legs (until she didn’t). “A stray cat that was supposed to be a tripod.” Mrs. Koehler jokingly said. Ribbitt likes to sit in the shower after someone has showered, sleep on your head, and attack her much larger, but younger brother Knox. Knox is a golden retriever who likes to ride his “bicycle”, which just means he lays on his back and  rotates his legs like he is riding a bicycle. He also loves water cookies and, of course, all other foods.

 

Mr. Nelson (Math) – Mako  

Mr. Nelson has a 2 ½ year old, black standard poodle named Mako. Because Mr. Nelson used to train hunting dogs, Mako is his smartest dog and in his own words, “If he could talk, he would hold a conversation with you.”

 

 

Mrs. Hurst (Special Education) – JoJo 

Mrs. Hurst has a 10 year old Boston Terrier named JoJo, who loves car rides and has special trigger words, “bye bye”, “doggie park”, and “bath” because he loves those things. He also likes to plop down on the floor and drags himself across it to scratch his own belly, which is TOO CUTE! He’s also a very loud snorer, supposedly louder than a person.

 

Mr. Brown (Head Principal) – Barrett 

Mr. Brown has a 6 month old Labrador Retriever (actually classified as a Dudley Lab) named Barrett. Mr. Brown and his family got him last summer to replace their black lab, Jake, who sadly passed away from bone cancer. Barrett, like Jake, has the funny quirk of thinking he is a human. He sits on the couch and tries to do everything that humans do.

 

 

Mrs. Rutig (Assistant Principal) – Nola 

Mrs. Rutig has a 3 year old Goldendoodle named Nola. Nola is a sock stealer, but only steals Mrs. Rutig’s son’s socks and likes when they chase her. It’s still unknown why Nola likes stealing socks so much, but we have the highest of high professionals on the job.

 

 

 

Mrs. & Mr. Turner (English & Math) – Marley 

Mrs. and Mr. Turner have a puggle mix named Marley, who she adopted from the Humane Society. Marley’s other names are; Marzipan, Mar-Mar Binks, Lil’ Bean, Puggle Bear Snuggle Bear, and many more. Despite loving to go on walks and doing yoga, she hates riding in the car and is scared of most things. But as evident by her nickname she is the perfect snuggle buddy.

 

 

Mrs. Siler (Math) – Daisy, Rocky, and Peanut  

Mrs. Siler has a 6 year old Great Pyrenees/Lab mix named Daisy, a 5 year old Boxer named Rocky (it’s both funny and intentional), and finally, a 3 year old tabby cat named Peanut. Daisy and Rocky are like any other loving canine siblings: they fight and sound like their going to tear each other apart, but then they lay together and freak out if either one of them leave for the groomers’ or the dreaded…vet. Another thing they do together is getting “tormented” by Peanut, Mrs. Siler even said, “Our cat lives in one half of the house and our dogs in the other half. When the dogs are in their crates, the cat sneaks into their half of the house and teases them.” Speaking of Peanut, he’s a total diva. He refuses to drink water from a bowl or a cat fountain, instead preferring to have it from a running faucet.

 

Mrs. Menendez (ELA) – Bojack Horsecat and Toad 

Mrs. Menendez has a white cat named Bojack Horsecat and a black cat named Toad. Horsecat’s favorite food is eating scraps out of the drain and bugs, while Toad enjoys more human food like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with whole sleeves of saltines (when no one is looking that is). Some things that they have in common, except being cats is they like to lick each other and sleep inside grocery bags on top of the fridge.

 

Mrs. Mullins (ELA) – Parker 

Mrs. Mullins has a 3 year old Maltese, Yorkie, Shih Tzu mix named Parker. Despite being just 10lbs his favorite doggy friends are huge labs. Parker loves running and wrestling with them, but also loves swimming in lakes, fetching tennis balls, and chasing squirrels.

 

 

Mrs. Hurst (Freshmen Counselor) – Ronix 

Mrs. Hurst and her family have a Australian Shepherd named Ronix (super cool name by the way), named after the wakeboarding company. Coincidentally, Ronix loves swimming so it seems the name was perfect for him. Ronix also loves frisbee and, in Hurst’s own words, “a cherished member of our family,”. 

Although, we were unable to have every teacher at Central supply us with pictures of their cute animals, we were delighted to see that more than one would answer the call. So thank you. Down below is a poll, where you can choose which pet (or pets) should win the unofficial, “Best Teacher’s Pet(s) of Central 2019.”

Teachers’ Pets of Central Poll

---

More stories from The Bobcat Times:

“Eurydice” Fall Play Review

Bobcat Football Podcast: playoff edition