It’s “National Love Your Pet Day,” so we asked Hochstein faculty and staff to send in photos of themselves and their companion animals. Cats outnumbered dogs this year!
Here are some pictures of our people and their pets – see the captions below for who is in each picture. Our pets clearly keep us company – whether we’re just chilling on the sofa, napping in a chair, or out for a walk or a hike.
Some of them even have musical inclinations, such as Jennifer Phillips’s dog, Tater, who howls along when certain timbres of music are played. Jennifer says, “We have quite a few videos of her “singing,” as my kids call it.”
Gwen Paker tells us that her dog, Opie, “likes ‘singing’ (howling) along when I practice, but only if I’m singing an operatic aria!”
Deborah Norin-Kuehn’s son trained their cat, Pixel, to give kisses on the nose in exchange for treats. She says, “I start every morning with 4 kisses, and Pixel starts every morning with four treats!”
Janice Hanson’s cat, Cosmo, also likes his “squeeze-up” treat every day. Cosmo came from a home with too many cats and was very skittish at first, but after lots of attention and treats over the past 18 months, he’s now willing to be a lap cat.
A number of these pets have been adopted from a local shelter, such as Ralph Scicchitano’s cat, Freddie. He’s a “Tuxedo Tripod” (with 3 legs), and as you can see in the picture, definitely a lap cat.
Debbie Tretter shared a picture of Brain (as in “Pinky and the…”), her daughter’s cat that they often cared for when Jessie was traveling. They had to say goodbye to Brain just last week. Debbie says, “He was such a wonderful cat and we are all so devastated. I wanted to honor him by sharing this photo of the two of us when he was living with us. He was an exceptional cat.”
Give your pets a little extra lovin’ today, to celebrate “National Love Your Pet Day”!
Photo 1 (shown above, left to right and top to bottom - click on each photo for a larger version):
Dick Delaney and his cat, Coco, chilling
Deborah Norin-Kuehn with her cat, Pixel
Gwen Paker with her dog, Opie
Ralph Scicchitano taking a snooze with his cat, Freddie
Photo 2:
Jennifer Phillips and her dog, Tater
Debbie Tretter with her daughter’s cat, Brain
Andrea Somerville with her dog, Ivy
Janice Hanson and her cat, Cosmo
Bethany McLean with her cat, Bootsie
Ivy with glasses
Nancy Johnston’s cat, Oni (short for Onyx)