Joseph is a junior who loves to play video games (especially fighting games, he loves Smash Bros!), loves pets (especially cats!) and is more likely to be found sleeping than doing anything else. He’s trying to learn to write on his own more. “Evil beware, we have waffles!” – Raven, Teen Titans

I’m sure that many of you have owned, or thought about owning, your own special pet companion. For many, the first animal that comes to mind when thinking of a pet is a dog or a cat. While both are equally adorable options for a fuzzy pal, have you ever considered something more adventurous? There are some students at LCHS who have and have raised animals you may not think could even be pets.
While many see raccoons as sneaky trash thieves (or foul-mouthed space warriors), Alexis Boyce, a junior, saw her raccoon as a beloved house pet. “When I was 13, my friend’s pet raccoon got pregnant, and I got to keep one of the babies,” she said. Lexi named the baby raccoon “Rachelle”. She had to bottle feed her striped friend with a medicine stopper, and though she tried to train Rachelle to use a litter box, Lexi ultimately failed. She also had to put up with frequent nighttime annoyances. “Since raccoons are nocturnal, I had to get used to her running around at night. Luckily, we kept her in the basement, so there was plenty of room for that!”
For Lucas Paulson, a freshman at LCHS, a furry pet wasn’t quite what he wanted. Instead, he preferred to have a scaly pet, in the form of an alligator! “I always thought alligators were cool, so one day I thought, hey, why not?” he said. His alligator, Allen, had his very own area in the backyard (fenced in, of course), complete with his own personal pool. Lucas was sure to feed him plenty of varied meats and fishes, in order to keep a balanced diet for his pet. “It was always fun to throw his food in the air, and watch him jump forward and grab it.” While his pet may have been a little scary to have around, he loved him all the same.
Shawn Horner, a former student at LCHS, shared Lucas’s sentiment for scaly pets, as he owned his very own pet snake! It was a kingsnake, a small, but colorful member of the reptile family, and his name was Viper. Kept in a glass terrarium, Viper was a quiet, but friendly pet for Shawn. “He mostly ate small mice. It was super cool to see him swallow a mouse whole,” he said. He also had to care for Viper during hibernation, as well. “I usually kept him in the closet when he hibernated, and I had to change his water every day.” His choice of a pet might’ve made some uneasy, but Shawn cared for him as he would any dog or cat.
Their pet choice may have been strange, but Lexi, Lucas, and Shawn all proved that their pets are just as good as any other. If you ever consider getting yourself a small friend, maybe take some time to think outside of the box (or outside of the cage, am I right?) for a change.

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