Though Townsend Harris doesn’t have an official pet therapy program, for many students, there is unofficial pet therapy available all the time in Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee’s office.
Step inside and you’ll meet Noodle, the bearded dragon who has grown so much that his fake counterpart, Udon, has lost his ability to fool anyone. As Ms. Fee explains with amusement, “Sometimes people think Udon is real. We’ll put him here, and people say ‘Oh my gosh, your bearded dragon is out,’ but now we can’t trick people as much because the real bearded dragon is so much bigger.”
Nearby, there’s a cage containing a hedgehog, known as Quilliam Bao Shakespeare. Unfortunately, since hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, he always remains curled up during the day. “Honestly,” Ms. Fee admits, “if I could do it again, I wouldn’t get a hedgehog, I’d get a hamster.”
In the softly bubbling tank, four beta fish drift calmly beneath the watchful eyes of Baby Groot, “a bubbler decoration,” Ms. Fee said, “the little kids love it.”
And about once a week, Melbourne, the rescue cat found on Melbourne Street, arrives like a celebrity star. Mel, also known as Bori, has hind legs that are paralyzed, but when she’s not in a students’ arms, on many days, she can be seen, perfectly mobile, exploring Ms. Fee’s office. On other days, Miso, a one-eyed dog from Korea, makes an entrance and steals the spotlight just as easily.
But the animals are only part of the story. What makes Ms. Fee’s petting zoo special isn’t just that there are animals in it; it’s that students come from around the building to take a moment from their day to get to know them.
Senior Thaseena Anjum said that, at times, the office holds a kind of “controlled chaos.” She said that “a lot of places in the school like the library tend to be super quiet or the third floor tends to be super loud,” but Ms. Fee’s office offers a balance because the animals, she said, are “in their own little worlds,” yet “bring a bit of life to the school without being [too] overwhelming.”
“I go to talk to Ms Fee about [my club] because she’s the advisor. If I need a spot to just hang out and sit, I know that I can go there too, but sometimes I go because of her zoo,” Thaseena said. “I really like animals and nature (to the point that I work at an actual zoo) and I really enjoy just sitting there and chilling while…being around [the animals in the office].
Physical Education teacher Gabriela Pedreros, who applied for the Pets in the Classroom grant that helped bring Noodle to campus, discussed her own experiences as a student with animals in a high school setting.
“When I was in high school, we had a zoology class with many animals in the classroom,” she said. “I remember how much emotional support they brought students, including me.”
That memory shaped her decision to apply for the grant. “I thought this would be a great opportunity,” she said, saying that the animals could help “create an open, inviting space where school could feel like a second home.”
After bringing Noodle to Ms. Fee’s office, Ms. Pedreros helped bring in another animal to the school. “A student told us her friend could no longer keep her leopard gecko and asked if we would take it,” Ms. Pedreros said. “There wasn’t space in Ms. Fee’s office, but we found a home for it on the sixth floor in the science department. It’s been another great addition and opportunity for students to engage and learn.”
Long after students forget test scores or hallway drama, many will remember the memories with the animals in the office. Ms. Fee said she has many such memories.
“One of my favorite memories was the day Melbourne was found,” she said. “She looked black and gray because she was covered in mud and completely soaked from being outside overnight in cold rain. We washed her and realized she was actually a beautiful tan-gold color. Then we found out her legs were paralyzed. It was a tragic but wonderful day at the same time. I also love watching her watch Noodle. It’s fascinating that cats like watching lizards.”
