The Secret Life of Pets (KLHS Edition)

By Nunu Z.

April 22, 2o22

Monday through Friday, Khan Lab High School students enter office building suite #100, a single room where they rotate through hour-block classes, listen to lectures, eat lunch, play basketball, and pass time. Then, at 4 o’ clock on the dot, masses of them will try slipping out through the double doors, running to catch the train, hop on their bikes, or eagerly await their ride home. Only a few are lucky enough to slip by. Why are they so desperate to escape? School is challenging but certainly not that challenging. Truth is, these students simply can’t wait to see their beloved pets again.

We wanted to meet these adorable fluffy friends so we surveyed the students on their pets’ “secret lives!”

Sia (Arjun A.)

Breed: German Shepherd

Age: 6 years old, born on Valentines Day (2016).

How would you describe them in three words? Lazy, Smelly, Cranky

Weird habits: “My dog runs in her dreams and she also sleeps on her back so when she does both, she looks like a cockroach.”

Quote from Arjun A.: “My sister and I were about to take her on a walk, while we were getting ready we tied her leash to a chair. She saw a squirrel in our backyard and dragged the chair as she sprinted through our family room out the backyard door (she wasn't hurt and perfectly fine but I can't say the same for the chair).”

Monday (Soren)

Breed: Labradoodle

Age: 3 years old

How would you describe them in three words? Playful, Dangerously Smart

Weird habits: “She’s a very picky eater, and we have to change the type of dog food we get for her every few months or else she loses interest.”

Quote from Soren: “After Monday learned that responding to a command (such as “hush” to stop barking) would lead to a reward, she started putting herself into more situations where she could follow a command (such as barking).”

Additional comments: ​​”She is the best. There will never be a better dog. This is a statement of fact.”

Ellie (Jacob)

Breed: Spaniel Dachshund or The Assistant Music Teacher

Age: 6 years old

How would you describe them in three words? Kind

Weird habits: “Her absolute favorite besties are all cats.”

Quote from Jacob: “Ellie is named after Ella Fitzgerald due to her vibrato howl.”

Additional comments: ​​”Ellie loves you all but has special heart eyes Jay, Shira, Peter and Soren.”

Cy (Chris)

Breed: Siberian Husky

Age: 7-8 years old. “We got him free on Craigslist when he was around 6-9 months old.”

How would you describe them in three words? Calm, Furry, Lovable

Quote from Chris: “My daughters climb all over him.”

Additional Comments: “He loves the water, ocean and rivers are his favorites.”

Momo (Nunu)

Breed: Unknown but he looks like Benji from the movie

Age: 4 years old. “He was supposedly rescued from a Korean meat market.”

How would you describe them in three words? Cute, Baby, Stinky

Weird habits: “When he wants something from you he will literally manipulate you by putting his chin on your knee and looking up at you with very sad, wide eyes.”

Quote from Nunu: “Momo scared two of my baby chickens to death when he tried to play with them.”

Additional comments: ​​”He normally looks like Albert Einstein but when his hair is pulled back he looks like a sea otter.”

Niatha (Sophia)

Breed: Ragdoll

Age: 9 months old. “Niatha was born in Denver, Colorado. He was born on February 21st and we got him in April. In mid July we drove back to California with him and my other cat, Psyche.”

How would you describe them in three words? Rambunctious, Cuddly, Very Needy

Weird habits: “He likes to bite our feet to get our attention.”

Quote from Sophia: “On May 31st we noticed that he wasn't eating a lot and his abdomen was getting really swollen so we took him to the ER. After a really stressful night and loads of tests he was diagnosed with FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) which is almost always fatal. We cried a lot but my dad did some more research and found out that there is a cure, but it is only manufactured in China and not in the US. After joining some facebook groups, he found people that resold the drug (which came in shot form) and he bought it. We had to inject him (he was like 4-5 pounds at the time) every day for 6 months. It was really really difficult and stressful. One time I was holding him so my dad could give him the shot and he was struggling so much that my dad completely missed and shot me in the knuckle. The needle hit my bone, which, as you can imagine, was extremely painful. On top of that, the solution of the drug had a pH equal to that of lemon juice, so it burned really badly. Thankfully, about 3 months in we were able to switch to the pill form of the drug and now at 9-10 ish months he is very healthy and we are very grateful :D”

Donald, Obama, Carl, and Ducky Momo (Nunu)

Breed: Silkie & Polish Chickens

Age: 1 year old

How would you describe them in three words? Fluffy, Loud, Stupid

Weird habits: “Donald likes to crow at every hour except dawn.”

Quote from Nunu: “We initially thought they were all silkies but in late June my friend found out our rooster is actually a polish chicken.”

Chloe (Sophie)

Breed: Holland Lop

Age: 4 years old. “My rabbit is from the animal shelter. She looked just like my old rabbit, Ellie, so I started crying at the animal shelter lol and the next morning we came back and adopted her.”

How would you describe them in three words? Fat, Sausage, Bread Loaf

Weird habits: “She likes to destroy her litter box and attack squirrels.”

Quote from Sophie: “Her best friend is this blue California scrub jay that dances around with her in the yard. She can also do tricks, such as standing on her hind legs, jumping around in a circle, and hurdles! (My sister is a hurdler for track and we set her hurdles to 12" and trained Chloe how to do it).”

Additional Comments: “‘Cats or dogs?’ To this controversial question, I would simply reply, ‘Neither, I like rabbits.’”

Below is an article Jasmine, Sophie’s sister, wrote for the animal shelter about their rabbit.

On September 14, 2016, my family adopted a cute, sweet, and fluffy Holland Lop bunny named Chloe from the animal shelter. Or so we thought… After a few days, Chloe revealed her true colors to us. Although we hoped she would be the sweet bunny that the animal shelter described, her personality could be summed up in one word: entitled. Later, we found out that Chloe had been abandoned by her previous owner because she was too aggressive. She hated being pet, carried, and cooped up inside. We let Chloe run around in our backyard in an attempt to allow her to let out some of her energy. Unfortunately, she ate all our plants, dug a hole, escaped, and rampaged around in our neighbor’s yard. Simply put, Chloe was not on good terms with our neighbors or the animal control officer. 

On top of putting up with Chloe’s bad behavior, having to change her litter box was the low point of my week. The odor was unbearable and I spent most of my time aimlessly trying to swat away flies. Chloe’s odor and the army of flies it attracted awarded her the nickname “the biohazard.” I still cannot believe that we let her live at our house rent-free. 

On the bright side, having a rabbit did come with some perks. For example, we could feed some of our vegetable scraps to her. As time went on, however, we started to lose sight of Chloe’s neck. Instead of being able to hop, Chloe lumbered around and spent most of her time sleeping. I nicknamed her the “furry sausage” because she liked to sprawl out and her elongated body looked like a sausage. On her adventures in our backyard, Chloe enjoyed grazing on our lawn and I often called her “our free lawn mower.” I had to put her on a diet after that.

I have also managed to teach Chloe some tricks such as standing up on her hind legs and hopping in a circle. She has recently mastered the art of hurdling! I look forward to her future career as a track athlete. Of course, Chloe will only perform these tricks under the influence of her favorite treats, either oats or dried fruit (which depends on her mood).

Honey (aka bun bun, henny, bunny, ninny, butt, etc.) (Maddie)

Breed: Chihuahua, Poodle, Pomeranian (aka pomchipoo)

Age: 3 years old

How would you describe them in three words? Fluffy, Derpy, Attachment-Issues

Weird habits: “BUTT SCOOTING. REVERSE SNEEZING. FRANTIC DIGGING. OH AND DON'T FORGET..... DEMON HONEY (alter ego)”

Quote from Maddie: “One time Honey came upstairs with a pizza toy in her mouth and I was like ohh cool my mom got a new toy for her but then I came closer AND REALIZED IT WAS AN ACTUAL PIZZA.”

Additional Comments: “She could be a sponsor for Pantene conditioner. Also go follow @honeythepomchipoo on Instagram.”

Pilot (Brianna)

Breed: Wonder Pup

Age: 4 years old. He was adopted in Los Angeles. 

How would you describe them in three words? Gregarious, Foodie, Traveler

Weird habits: “Pilot enjoys napping on large piles of laundry.”

Additional Comments: “Pilot is an Aries.”

Leo (Vibhas)

Breed: Collie/Terrier Mix

Age: 1 year old and born December 2, 2020, in Milpitas, California. 

How would you describe them in three words? Energetic, Funny, Mischievous

Nana (Bananas Foster) (Rowan)

Breed: Mutt; mostly Jack Russell Terrier

Age: 12 years old. “We originally were just going to look after her for a few weeks, as the shelter couldn't house dogs due to COVID-19. But she ended up not being adopted for a few months, and eventually we decided to adopt her.”

How would you describe them in three words? A people dog.

Biscuit (Shira)

Breed: Doberman/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix

Age: 9 years old. “I got her when I was 8. It was February 14, 2013, I that morning I had a surgery. After the surgery, I got to come home to a new dog.”

How would you describe them in three words? Independent, Regal, Loving

Weird habits: “Anytime someone comes to the door, she will find a toy or ball or something and bring it to them as a welcome gift.”

Babka (Shira)

Breed: Formosan Mountain Dog

Age: 1.5 years old. “She is from Taiwan. During COVID, all the shelters only had very few dogs that would work for us, so we started to broaden our range. We found a woman who rescues strays in Taiwan and sends them to the US.”

How would you describe them in three words? Silly, Skittish, Adorable

Weird habits: “She tries really hard to catch bugs and flies. She generally doesn't succeed.”

Additional Comments: “She follows Biscuit around everywhere.”

Simon (Charlie)

Breed: Siamese Cat

Age: 2 years old. “He is supposed to be a feral cat. We got him in order to keep mice out of our garbage. He was supposed to be feral and not accept attention and petting, but he warmed up to us.”

How would you describe them in three words? Energetic, Playful, Sleepy

Weird habits: “He loves to watch birds on the family TV.”

Quote from Charlie: “I take my cat on walks with me. He walks next to us on his own.”

Additional Comments: “He was originally supposed to be an outdoor only feral cat, but he became an indoor/outdoor cat. We make him sleep in the garage at night, in order to keep the mice out.”

Coco (Sita)

Breed: Unknown mix - part german shepherd and labrador

Age: 2 years old. “Got her in summer of 2020 from a rescue.”

How would you describe them in three words? Fluffy, Silly, Scared

Weird habits: “She likes diving into the trash can or like rooting around in it, she also runs around like crazy in the backyard sometimes.”

Quote from Sita: “So we have a projector at home instead of a tv, so whenever we're trying to do something on our computer, my dog sees the mouse moving around on the projection on the wall and jumps up and tries to catch/bite it. she thinks it's like a fly or something.”

Lara (Laya)

Breed: British Shorthair Cat

Age: Almost 9 months old.

How would you describe them in three words? Spunky and Curious

Quote from Laya: “She loves jumping head-first into cardboard boxes.”

Kepler (Miguel)

Breed: Savannah Cat

Age: 6 months old. “We got him from a shelter.”

How would you describe them in three words? Cuddly, Slumsy, Friendly

Weird habits: “Drinking toilet water, also he likes to drink water by spilling it from the bowl with his paws and drinking from the puddle he creates.”

Quote from Miguel: “He sleeps on my bed and likes to pounce on my feet when I move them under the covers.”

Ranger (Jessica)

Breed: Chinook

Age: 10 weeks old. “We just added the dog to our family 2 weeks ago!”

How would you describe them in three words? Sweet, Smart, Funny

Calvin (Nihal)

Breed: German Shepherd

Age: 4 years old. “He came from a family with 5 children, and he was a bit too crazy for them.”

How would you describe them in three words? Overly friendly & loving

Weird habits: “He chases squirrels around the yard, which can sometimes be kind of funny to watch.”

Quote from Nihal: “All the fun times I slept on him and used him as a pillow when driving to Tahoe. He is also overjoyed whenever I come home from school, he normally will run around in circles and try to get me to play with him.”

Additional Comments: “Just overall a great dog, and too friendly.”