Teacher’s Pets: Mentally Fulfilling And Mood Boosting

One of things that has always set HANC High School apart from so many other schools is that at HANC we’re a family. Whether this is shown from our weekly student-faculty basketball games, or the open door policy of our Morot, HANC has cultivated a welcoming home for all its students. 

But what’s a home without a furry friend?

Studies show that having a pet can increase responsibility as a habit among students, and that pets help with mental health, specifically anxiety. In fact, around 75% of pet owners in the U.S. report a general improvement in mental health due to their animal companion. Pets are common therapy tools, as they lift morale, and can as well be trained to guide the blind, or even sense a seizure before it happens. Pets have incredible benefits on students, teachers, and people across the globe.

In the past, it had been possible for HANC to organize events like visits of therapy dogs to the school, but such logistics have become increasingly complex, as many students have allergies. So, it isn’t feasible for HANC to have class pets or animal events as much as we’d like to. However, there are other ways students who don’t have their own pets can stay engaged with animals–one way being through our teachers. 

Many HANC teachers have pets of their own, and when a student is feeling down they are always willing to share an adorable photo or a funny antidote. When teachers were surveyed about their pets, many had similar warm feelings about their animal friends, with the exception of Dean Smus, who joked, “My favorite thing about my pet is watching it leave my house!”  

Covid, too, led to the growing feeling of isolation that caused more and more people to long for companionship, leading to the phenomenon of what became known as the ‘covid pet’, like Dr. Tendler’s dog, Fran, a quintessential Covid pet from Texas. When Dr. Tendler was asked what mental health benefits having a pet have brought on his own life he answered, “Animals can be fantastic vehicles for students to get out anxiety in a comfortable, cost-effective, and fluffy-tail-waggy kind of way,” as well referencing the time he had taught in the University of New Haven, which had brought in service dogs during midterms and finals, like HANC once had, to help students relax through spending time cuddling with and petting the dogs. He explained about Fran that she is silly without meaning to be, and that “her silliness has inexpressibly enriched my life.”

Any student at HANC can see just how much Ms. Medici, one of our resident art gurus, loves her dog, Ziggy, just from looking at the walls of her classroom, which are decorated with pictures of Ziggy done in many contemporary styles. When Ms. Medici was asked how having a pet instilled educational values she answered, “Teaching a dog (or any pet) takes time and patience, the same way as you should be thinking about your school work.” Ms. Medici exclaims that she could not imagine her life without her best friend, Ziggy, who taught her to be compassionate and love unconditionally. Ms. Medici says that “Ziggy is the most beautiful and snuggly lady in the world. She has no idea what she’s done for me throughout the past few years,” reminding us how special these connections to animals can be.