Natalie Rojanets: The Ultimate Animal Lover
Do you know anyone who runs a mini zoo in their own house? Natalie Rojanets, a 17-year-old junior at The Galloway School, takes care of over 10 pets in her home. Natalie has always grown up with pets. Throughout her life she has owned guinea pigs, tree frogs, mice, gerbils, hamsters, cats, dogs, ferrets, rabbits, fish, a bearded dragon, and a leopard gecko. Currently, under her roof, she has three ferrets, two dogs, three cats, a rabbit, and fish. When I hear the word “animal-lover,” Nataile Rojanets comes to mind; there is no one who loves animals more. Furthermore, Natalie is extremely passionate about animal rights.
When I first walked into Natalie’s house, just down the street from mine, I never expected to be greeted by three ferrets, climbing the walls and jumping all over me. It definitely was a surprise. Her ferrets, Peter, Pongo, and Pearl, stand out to me the most. They are constantly bending their bodies in the strangest ways and poping out of nowhere. Natalie has an “animal room” connected to her bedroom which is where the ferrets and rabbit live. In that room, there is a huge play pen area with a maze of tubes for the ferrets to climb through. One time, Natalie’s mom left her window open and Pearl somehow escaped. Natalie thought she lost her ferret for good until they found her in a tube in the backyard. Natalie even travels with her ferrets to the beach and attaches them to leashes to bring them on walks.
Natalie’s Rabbit is an English Angora. These rabbits have extremely long wool coats which makes them look like a round ball of white fluff. These rabbits perform in rabbit shows and competitions. Also, their fur is commonly used to make plush yarn fiber. This rabbit is for sure one of my favorites.
In her sophomore year, Natalie chose to do an independent study related to animals. She went to training facilities to learn about the process of coaching service dogs. She was able to work with police dogs, seeing eye dogs, therapy dogs, and arsenal dogs. Moreover, Natalie got to meet and learn about therapy horses. The horses form bonds with people to help them mentally and physically. Natalie truly enjoyed her independent study.
Natalie will continue to take care of animals and provide them with a home. For her AP English Language and Composition class, Natalie focused her most recent project on animal rights. She wrote on Op-Ed on how messed up the act of trapping animals in cages is. No matter how Natalie’s work with animals evolves in the future, it is clear that they will always play an important role in Natalie’s life.