From parakeets to beta fish to puggles, Sage Creek teachers not only house their pets but have a deep bond with them.

One example is Mr. Simon who owns two rabbits, two parakeets, two turtles, and two ducks.

His two ducks are both females, a mother and her daughter, “The mom’s name is Olive, and the daughter’s name is Buddy Jr.” Both Olive and Buddy Jr. are the only two members of the flock that remain with Mr. Simon. This family had developed originally when Olive the mother duck had mated with a male duck named Buddy. After Olive had laid fourteen eggs, only eight had developed and eventually hatched during the night; and the hatching of the ducklings had led to a night full of cries. According to Mr. Simon, the cries that came from the ducklings had attracted the attention of a racoon nearby. While Buddy (the father duck) had made an attempt to defend his flock, he sadly ended up passing away from the raccoon attack. With the father gone, and the mother not taking care of all of her ducklings, seven of the remaining ducklings had lost their life. Now with 8 ducklings growing very rapidly, Mr. Simon decides to give 6 of them away to people who could better take care of them. After those ducklings had left, one of the remaining ones suffered a fatal injury from an incident involving the rocks in Mr. Simon’s pond. All of these events that had taken place have left Mr. Simon with Buddy Jr. and her mother, Olive, now living within his backyard.

These two ducks are not the only feathery friends that spend their days with Mr. Simon, both Yoda and Cooper are parakeets that have been a part of Mr. Simon’s life for the past 2 years. Mr. Simon has raised both finches and Parakeets for the last 15 years, and he really enjoys the “acoustics” they provide throughout his yard. Both of the parakeets spend their days in an outdoor aviary surrounded by the rest of Mr. Simon’s pets.

Mr. Simon’s pet rabbits are also located near both the duck and turtle pond and the parakeet aviary. Mr. Simon had been raising different rabbits for the past 15 years, Snickerdoodle and Oreo are the two that he currently takes care of. He states that, “[he] loves raising rabbits because of how soft and “cuddly” they are, and also the fact that they are wonderful with children. His children love all of the animals, but the rabbits and the turtles are the ones who behave the best with them. The two turtles Mr. Simon has are Squirtle and Mr. T. When creating the pond in his backyard, Mr. Simon decided to adopt the two turtles in order to create even more diversity into his backyard environment. Mr. Simon has an obvious love for animals, and so do many other teachers on our Sage Creek Campus; here is some information on some other teachers and the pets that they cherish.

Ms. Williams

-Type of Pets: Two Dogs

-Names: Rudy and Chewbacca

-Ages: Rudy is around 8 years old

And Chewbacca is estimated to be

around 10-12 years old

-Both Rudy and Chewbacca are

rescue dogs, so their exact ages

are not known.

– Ms. Williams enjoys all of the unconditional love and affection that comes along with having dogs. She enjoys the companionship that dogs can supply as well.

Mrs. Kuehl

-Type of Pet: English Labrador

-Name: Walter

-Age: 9 months old

-Mrs. Kuehl loves how “ridiculous” Walter is and praises the ability he has in making her laugh on a daily basis. She really just loves how goofy Walter is and how he can always make her smile.

Mrs. Hunter

-Types of Pets: A dog and A beta fish

-The dogs name is Lucy and the beta fish was named by Mrs. Hunter’s two children, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

– Lucy has been a part of the Hunter family for around 2 and ½ years and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was just adopted 3 or 4 months ago

-Twinkle Twinkle was purchased as a gift for Mrs. Hunter’s children because of their great performance in school

-Mrs. Hunter loves having her dog Lucy as a valued member of her family, and also adores Lucy’s fondness for snuggling.

Mr. Porter

-Type of Pet: Dog

-Name: Dahlia; Dahlia gained her name from the “Dahlia” flower that Mr. Porter’s wife is fond of, and in order to give her the nickname Dahli “Dolly”.

-Age: 4 months old

-Mr. Porter loves how much energy his puppy has and the amount of excitement she has when Mr. Porter comes home from work. This new edition to his family is just another reason to look forward to coming home.

Señora Roth

-Type of Pet: Dog

-Name: Bentley

-Age: 2 years old

-The name Bentley was the name he had before he had been adopted by Sra. Roth’s family, and they all decided to keep the name “Bentley” because it seemed to suit him very well.

– Señora Roth enjoys all of the energy that Bentley brings into her household, and also loves simply relaxing and spending time with him.

Mrs. Newsom

-Types of Pets: Two Puggles (Pug and Beagle Mixed Dogs)

-Names: Diego (9)  and Roxy (8)

-Both of Mrs. Newsom Wuertz’s dogs were given names that related to San Diego

-Mrs. Newsom Wuertz loves both of her dogs dearly, and she enjoys spending time with them and seeing their personality quirks unfold throughout the day.

Mrs. Goode

-Type of Pets: A golden retriever,  a cat, a clownfish, and a shrimp

-Names: Mrs. Goode in the past had continuously named her dogs after surf locations, and that is where this dog got the name Hurley. Her cat is named Dude; this became his name because Mrs. Goode would constantly tell him, “dude stop it” when she had first adopted him, and the rest followed suit.

– Hurley and Dude are 4 years old

– Mrs. Goode loves how “neurotic” Hurley is and how much joy he obtains when seeing her come home. Both of her pets entertain each other, and Dude is especially great with Mrs. Goode’s baby as well.

Mrs. Magee

-Type of Pet: Golden Retriever

-Name: Hilo

-Age: 6 years old

-Mrs. Magee’s dog Hilo was named after the city in Hawaii where Mrs. Magee and her husband got married.

She loves how Hilo is always there for her and how she can always count on her dog to make her feel loved and welcomed when she returns home.

Within their households, the Sage Creek teachers consider their pets as family. When returning home, teachers are initially greeted by all of their loving animals, and the experience they receive from their pets makes their return home increasingly better. Domestic animals are not only around to make our teachers feel welcomed, but are also a form of comfort and love that our teachers can always rely on.