The Pets Of Wredling

The students of Wredling are showing off their cool pets! I received a ton of submissions, and while I sadly couldn’t include everyone this time, don’t worry, if you don’t see your pet in this feature, look for Part 2 next quarter!

Sixth-grader Ryan Harman lives with three unique companions: a lizard, a spider, and an axolotl. Ryan shared that he first got a lizard because he “wanted something to keep [him] company.” Ryan received his lizard, Gus-Gus, on Christmas morning of 2018. The second pet he got was a spider. Ryan’s brother wanted a pet “for a long time, so [they] went to multiple pet stores and then [they] found the perfect baby spider.” The spider’s name is Penny.

Finally, Ryan added his Axolotl to the family. Ryan had always wanted an Axolotl, so in 2nd grade, he made a little book (which he still has!) about Axolotls. He included where they live, what they eat, and cool facts about them. His family eventually “found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to adopt “the cutest looking baby axolotl,” named Axi. Gus-Gus, Penny, and Axi are awesome reptiles that Ryan continues to care for today. 

Seventh-grader Annabelle Zars has many amazing pets! Annabelle has three Nigerian Dwarf goats, Acadia, Denali, and Yosemite. After a year of convincing her parents, she welcomed all three, who are named after her family’s favorite National Parks.

Annabelle also cares for twelve chickens, each named after a different spice. Chickens have a lot of predators, mainly hawks. Interestingly, her goats serve as bodyguards; their presence helps scare off hawks, keeping her chickens safe. Annabelle’s goats have many toys to play with, like a seesaw, a slide, wooden tables, and a trampoline.

These goats are notorious escape artists! One goat managed to pull a fence right out of the ground when he put his head through it. In the act, he released the other goats and all twelve chickens! Having a miniature farm in your backyard sure sounds like a lot of fun.

Wredling’s Assistant Principal, Mrs. Milas, along with her husband and toddler, Brooks, has two adorable dogs, Penny and Pebbles. In the summer of 2017, she adopted Penny from a rescue organization in Tennessee. When they got her, she was around two years old. All of them loved spoiling her with toys, treats, and long walks.

Three years later, during the COVID lockdown, Mrs. Milas (a 7th-grade ELA teacher at the time) decided Penny needed a younger, more active companion to keep her company. So they got Pebbles! They chose Pebbles because she was a Beagle mix, like Penny. But Pebbles is now double Penny’s height and 20 pounds heavier, a different type of mix.

“Nowadays, they spend their time lounging around the house, surveying the perimeter of our yard many times a day, and keeping a close eye on what my toddler son, Brooks, might be eating. He loves to share all of his food with them.” Mrs. Milas and her family simply love having Penny and Pebbles as part of their family. 

Elena Kohn (pronounced Cone) is a 7th-grade student with an adorable dog,  Indy Anna Kohn (a clever play on Indiana Jones). Elena and her mom drove two hours to Indianapolis to rescue Indy, a Blue Heeler. Indy is a bit of a fashion icon, sporting a brand-new bandana for every season.

Indy likes to guard Elena’s mom “from imaginary threats.” Winter is his favorite season because he enjoys shoveling snow into his mouth. Elena’s family was told Indy was around five years old when they adopted him. However, her mother, a veterinarian, thinks he may be older.

Indy isn’t the only pet in the house. Elena also has two fish, one that her brother received during a magic show. Her brother’s fish, Percy, was “summoned” by a magician who burned a drawing of a fish to make a real one appear. Elena eventually got her first fish from the same magician at her brother’s birthday party. After he died, she got three other fish from a pet store. 

Seventh-grader Sofia has two fascinating nocturnal roommates. Received as a Christmas gift in 2021, Sofia and her brother unwrapped “a hermit crab terrarium and supplies.” A little while later, Sofia’s dad came home with two hermit crabs. They named the larger one Minnie and the smaller one Joey. The crabs live in a specialized terrarium split between dirt fiber and sand. Minnie and Joey have two fake “hideouts” in the terrarium: a log and a coconut.

Minnie and Joey have an active lifestyle, featuring a climbing pole, and two pools- saltwater and freshwater. They even enjoy some human treats, like peanut butter, potato chips, and saltines. But their main food is pellets, dried fruit, and coconut flakes. Hermit crabs are nocturnal creatures, sleeping during the day and staying active at night. Sofia and her family sometimes hear their shells clink on the glass terrarium walls at night. Once, Joey even proved his strength by digging his claws into the caulk in the corner of their terrarium, climbing all the way to the ceiling!

During the winter, hermit crabs also hibernate by burrowing deep into the dirt for a while. They are such fascinating pets, and Sofia is lucky to have Minnie and Joey!

The students of Wredling have such incredible pets! If you submitted your pets through our Google Form and didn’t see your pet today, be sure to check back in the fourth quarter for our next update!