While we’ve introduced many of the newer members of our department over the last month, there’s a very-important group that has been consistently left out and forgotten… So in this issue of SNARL, we’d like you to meet those who make up a less-recognized but equally important part of our lives: The Pets of the Department!!
Gina – The Friendly Wanderer
Owners: Eileen, Hazel, Livia
“This past academic year we welcomed Gina into our home. Gina has been the neighborhood cat wandering from house to house befriending anyone and everyone who will feed her for at least 6 years since she left her original owner’s home. We are very glad she has decided to stay with us and we are keeping in touch with her original owner as well who is grateful that she has a home again.”
Cezi – The Snuggler
Owner: Morgan
“This is Cezi. She loves tuna fish, snuggling in my armpit, and dirty laundry. Also, belly rubs 😻”
Marlo – The Queen
Owner: Kristen
“Marlo and her sister are from the same litter, and they’re 4 years old. The kids and I took a trip out to Chicago, and at the end of the trip, rented a car, visited the breeder where I got my first beagle Maggie out in the cornfields of Illinois (back when I was a grad student at Northwestern), and flew them back to New Jersey. It was a very memorable experience! Marlo is the one with more freckles. (She doesn’t really need the glasses.) She is the queen. She demands attention and sneaks the food from the pantry.”
Marigold – The Sweetheart
Owner: Kristen
“Marigold is a sweetheart. Every male dog wants to be her suitor. Marigold and Marlo are both stubborn, playful, and lovable…like my kids. They love bananas, frozen blueberries, yogurt, eggs, and salmon…like me.”
Raffi – [Classified]
Owner: Kristen
“The turtle is Raffi. He’s my son’s, but guess who gets to clean out the tank? 🤢 He was a gift from his godmother (one of my friends). There’s a story about where he came from that I can’t even tell my son until he’s older. It involves a Chinese takeout container, a few frantic phone calls, and Staten Island.”
Energy – The Immortal (not actually pictured)
Owner: Kristen
“We used to have a pet crayfish for 3+ years. We hold the Warnsdorfer elementary school record for how long he lived. RIP, Energy.”
Dana – The Energetic
Owner: Ang
Uncle: Dine
“Meet Dana, he is an energetic little boy.”
Uni – The Original
Owner: Simon
“I adopted Uni (pronounced like it’s IPA) in 2007, in Providence, RI (she was 2 then). She followed me first to grad school in NYC, and now to central NJ. She has 7 toes on her front paws, and 5 on her back. She’s a true original, in body and mind.”
Bruno – The Family Man
Owner: Marilyn
“Bruno is a six year old small Fox Terrier/Chihuahua mix. He enjoys lounging on the sofa and his favorite toy is a stuffed beagle. He likes going for long walks and loves to chase squirrels and will often fake a sneeze for a treat. He loves to join the family in outings & is always very well behaved when visiting others.”
Tim – The Baby
Owner: Jill
“Adopted off the streets of NYC as a kitten, Tim is the needy, attention-seeking baby of the family. He plays fetch, opens doors on his own, and runs to meet his owners at the door every day.”
Echo – The Sonorous
Owner: Jill
“Echo enjoys sleeping in the sun, planning grand escape strategies, and meowing loudly at birds. After his owners found him at a construction site, he adapted quickly to being a house cat, although he displays an intense preference for the taste of plastic and sheds enough to knit a blanket. Every day.”
Kiwi – The Cynic
Owner: Jill
“Kiwi is a feral cat who was acquired by accident last winter, when Jill (very) mistakenly assumed she was a stray and hunted for her for two hours through a snow-covered park. Paranoid and possessing the intelligence of a small child, she will not touch any food not eaten by her brothers and hides behind breakable items to evade capture. Despite this, Kiwi has gradually settled into her new home and now prefers to sleep curled around her owners’ heads at night. She also chirps.”
Grover – The Scientist
Owner: Peter
Rosie – The Rescue
Owner: Troy
Rosie is a rescue from Arkansas. She is a two and half old Jack Russell mix. She enjoys going for walks, burrowing under blankets to take naps and playing fetch with her ball.
Orlando – The Heir
Owner: Ken
Here is Orlando, son of Safir and last of his name.
 Ava and Hannah – The Palindrome Sisters
Owners: Ziling and Tatevik
Aunty: Indira
Godmother: Natasha
Description: Our little bundles of joy and the reason we can’t get any work done at home. They both love napping on top of homework assignments and ruining LaTeX documents by walking across the keyboard. When they run out of ways to distract us from working, Hannah passes time by chasing her own tale while Ava watches with embarrassment.
