Yearbook Student Life Copy

Katee Pate, The Bison
Buffalo HS (Buffalo, Texas)

Furry friends make life more interesting  for students and teachers alike

You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family – or so the saying goes. Animal lovers, however, know they can and do choose the furriest members of their family. That’s because most pet lovers consider their pets to be as much a part of the family as someone born into it.

“I have a cat named W,” sophomore Mica Boettcher said. “I love my cat because he’s crazy and he always makes my day when I come home.”

The death of a pet, especially one who has been around for years, can be nearly as difficult as losing any human loved one.

“Our Shetland Sheepdog, Dakota, had been a part of our family since only a few months after Carl and I were married, before CJ was born,” English teacher Melonie Menefee said. “This spring, when he was nearly 13, he began to have a lot of pain, especially when he tried to walk. One night, when he cried all night long, we knew it was time to let him go. It was absolutely one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make, and both of the kids and Carl and I were devastated.”

Senior Jami Oliver and her family had to make a similar decision. I had to have my dog put to sleep, which was an extremely difficult decision to make and then carry through with,” Jami said. “However, death is a part of life, which I think everyone comes to learn sooner or later.”

After Dakota’s death, the Menefee’s brought home a Golden Retriever puppy who become a part of the family the minute she walked in the door.

The Olivers had already gotten a new puppy to add to their collection even before the death of their older dog.

No one doubt the love of a pet owner for their animals if they listen to Dana Morris talk about her pets, who receive gifts on Christmas and their birthdays. Her Yorkie, Chelsea, turned 10 this year.