I think we can all agree that pets play a very vital role in people’s lives, which is one reason why I created the Pet Series for this newspaper. 

I wanted to highlight amazing people and the unique connection they have with their loyal animal companions. In today’s article, I was fortunate enough to have some amazing stories from a faculty member and a student at Vermont State University at Castleton. 

Doe Dahm is an amazing writing specialist at the Academic Support Center and helps students greatly with their writing aspirations and assignments. If you have ever been to Dahm’s office, you can instantly recognize that she is an animal advocate. 

She has many posters of associations she honorably supports, and she often speaks very highly of these associations. I asked her if she could be kind enough to give some more information on her extraordinary pet cat Beebee. I asked her a series of questions about Beebee, including general information on this amazing cat.

“I have Beebee, a torbie cat. Torbies are tabbies with some tortoiseshell markings and orange notes. I’m not sure of her precise age as she was a stray before someone brought her to the humane society, but she’s somewhere between 7 and 10 years old. You’d never know it, though; she still has regular bouts of the Zoomies.”

 As for where the unique name came from? 

“While Beebee’s name suits her, I didn’t name her. My mom adopted her from Rutland County Humane Society in November 2018 and bestowed that name on her. She’d once known a woman called Beebee, and she really liked the name. However, although my mom adopted her, Beebee had other plans and quickly decided that I was her person. So now I pay the vet bills and get most of the cuddles.”

Dahm then went on to explain some of her favorite things about Beebee. 

“Where do I begin? She’s very loving; in fact, she has to be involved in everything I do whether it’s grading papers or working on my own writing. She spends much of the night sleeping on my shins. If I’m upstairs and she’s downstairs, she’ll pause at the bottom of the staircase and then cry with excitement before racing up to meet me.”

 Dahm also gave insight into how Beebee positively impacts her life. 

“It’s flattering that just being with me fills her with such joy. She loves to play, and she’s also very elegant and graceful. I never get tired of seeing her wrap her tail around herself. She has a bit of old Hollywood poise, which I envy.”

 Dahm also shined a light on how the holidays are important for Beebee and her human family. 

“I’m excited to spend the holidays with Beebee, and it won’t surprise anyone that Beebee has her own stocking or that she gets presents from her aunts and grandparents. Given her energy level, she is surprisingly good with the Christmas tree,” she said.

 Asked if she had any interesting stories to tell about her feline friend around the holidays, she was quick with a response. 

“I think the funniest story about Beebee and the holidays is her first Christmas with us. Two of my siblings were over with their spouses, we had a lovely time, and only one photo exists from that celebration: a black-and-white photo my brother took of Beebee. This shows you everything about our priorities!” 

I also got a learn quite a bit of information this week about Leo Schnipper’s dog, Carlo. 

Schnipper is an avid outdoorsman and a very good skier. He is also an animal advocate, a great communicator, and I greatly enjoy working alongside him in some of my classes. Together, Schnipper and I have done a lot of fieldwork for Wildlife and Forestry Conservation. 

According to him, his dog was already named Carlo when his family adopted him around six years ago. 

“Carlo has a super laid-back demeanor and is very well-behaved,” he said. 

Like Dahm, Schnipper also has an interesting story about his companion around the holidays. 

“On Thanksgiving, he ran away from my dad in the middle of the woods, and we couldn’t find him, then he turned up on our porch later that day,” he said. 

I can’t even explain how much I enjoyed interviewing these individuals and learning more about their pets. Each person has a story to tell, and hopefully, a story that includes an animal. These two awesome individuals represent how animals (especially pets) impact our daily lives. To Schnipper and Dahm: thank you very much for giving me the privilege of learning more about your awesome relationship with your pets. 

If you have a pet you’d like to talk about and have them featured in The Spartan, contact Gavin Bradley at glb00802@vermontstate.edu