Carolina’s pandemic pets
Meet five pets who joined Carolina employees’ families during the COVID-19 pandemic, and learn how they’re helping their owners cope.
Five months after I adopted my puppy, Molly, she woke me up at 5 a.m. one morning by barking and pawing at her crate, something she hadn’t done since the first weeks I brought her home. I got up and let her outside. Molly then immediately went back to sleep as if nothing had happened, leaving me wide awake and grumpy before dawn with no hope of dozing off again before my 6:30 alarm. Instead, I made a pot of coffee and decided to double-check our daily newsletter, From The Well, before its scheduled delivery to all University faculty and staff at 6 a.m. When I opened the application and inspected the links, I found that one story had not published at the correct time, and the link was dead. I corrected the link in the nick of time, and From The Well went out at 6 a.m. like normal.
What a lucky coincidence that Molly had woken me up early that day, I thought.
And then it happened again: Two weeks later Molly woke me at 5:30 a.m. and, when I checked our website I discovered a glitch that had occurred after hours. I was able to delay the delivery of From The Well until it was fixed.
When I told my coworkers about the pattern, one of them said, “It’s like she’s Lassie warning us Timmy fell down the well.”
Molly is just one of many “pandemic pets” — animals welcomed into homes either for companionship during quarantine or because their owners suddenly have time at home to train them. I talked to employees from across the University who have added a furry — or scaly — pet to their family since last March and asked them what makes their pandemic pet special.
Molly, 8-month-old “supermutt”
Molly is what I consider a “supermutt,” meaning she’s the best of every breed you can imagine. Found under a shed in Johnston County, Molly and her littermates were dubbed the “rock star” litter by their rescuers and given iconic names from music history — you can call Molly, “the artist formerly known as Carole King.” She’s a fun and insistent co-worker at home. She provides input during team meetings by barking at opportune moments, and whenever Zoom calls stretch on for too long, she grabs her loudest squeaky toy and tries to drown out the speaker. When she isn’t supervising my work — and periodically saving the day — Molly enjoys car rides to Starbucks for an afternoon puppuccino or going for walks in Battle Park.
Molly always keeps a few toys within reach of her workspace.
Lewis, 5-month-old leopard gecko
Lewis joined a full house when Megan May, a communications specialist at UNC Research, fulfilled her childhood wish of owning a gecko. His “siblings” include a dog, two cats, a tortoise and a horse that May stables at her parents’ nearby farm. Lewis may be the smallest of them all, but he’s currently the center of attention as May’s dog and cats often stare into his terrarium during the day, and her dog begs for May to pick Lewis up so she can sniff him. May says she’s enjoyed documenting Lewis’ markings as he grows, because his baby stripes are slowly turning into grown-up spots. Lewis is also a welcome distraction and companion for May, who is quarantining alone with her pets and jokingly says she’s “building an ark” during the pandemic.
Lewis is less than a year old but already knows how to pose for the camera. (Image courtesy of Megan May)
Rece, 2-year-old basenji/pit bull mix
Sarah Johnston, a curriculum integration and credit transfer specialist in the Study Abroad Office, and her husband Ben Wright, assistant director of audit and financial compliance in the Office of Sponsored Research, were waiting for the perfect time to get a dog. When the pandemic began, they figured they would be home for a couple of months, long enough to train a dog. Ten months later, with both working from home, they say they never imagined that the pandemic would be this long or that Rece would be the perfect pet. During office hours, Rece practices chasing his tail by spinning in circles as fast as he can, then flopping onto his back when he finally catches it. Rece’s laid-back attitude, affectionate nature and love of walking in the woods has been comforting during a turbulent time, said Johnston and Wright.
Rece participates in pandemic-safe outings, like hikes. (Image courtesy of Sarah Johnston)
Mia, 10-month-old tabby kitten
Mia wears her name with pride — literally, because like most tabbies she has a distinct “M” marking on her forehead that owner Lucas Bouknight says helped him find the perfect name for his new kitten. Despite disclosing that he thinks of himself more as a “dog person,” Bouknight knew as a third-year medical student he didn’t have the time to devote to training a dog and adopted a kitten instead last April. In true pandemic fashion, Bouknight met Mia via Zoom by watching her play and interact with her foster parents and other kittens and adopted her remotely. Along with being a quarantine buddy, Mia has also been coaching Bouknight through studying for his United States Medical Licensing Examinations and lies down on the keyboard when she thinks he needs to take a break.
Mia giving a subtle hint that she thinks Bouknight needs to take a break from studying. (Image courtesy of Lucas Bouknight)
Teuvo, 5-year-old chihuahua/feist mix
While Teuvo may be small in stature, his namesake looms large in the National Hockey League: Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teräväinen, who played for the Chicago Blackhawks when the team won the Stanley Cup in 2015. Teuvo’s owner, Brett Piper, a hockey fan and communications specialist in the department of computer science in the College of Arts & Sciences, says Teuvo was timid and would only crawl on his belly around people when Piper and his wife first adopted him. After 10 months of training at home with Piper while he works remotely, he said Teuvo now carries himself with the confidence of a professional athlete. Teuvo is a constant work-from-home companion who loves taking his humans for walks outside or just keeping their laps warm.
Teuvo gears up for a fun day at Lake Norman during warmer days. (Image courtesy of Brett Piper)
Look for part two of our “Pandemic pets” series next week. If you would like to nominate your pandemic pet, email The Well staffer Madeline Pace at mpace@unc.edu and put “Pandemic pet” in the subject line.
