We’ve all been there. We spend hours upon hours with eyes glued to a computer screen filled with squares of human beings. Many are visibly tired. Some are forcing a smile. Others have their cameras turned off, only represented by a grey screen with a name. Then suddenly, we are graced with the unexpected attendance of an adorable, non-human creature. The day becomes a little bit better and brighter.

Who can hold back a grin or chuckle when a curious cat or nosy dog inserts itself into our virtual classes? The furry, sometimes scaly friends of our Zoom peers have given New School students and professors a reason to authentically smile in a virtual and disconnected world. 

The New School Free Press spoke with New Schoolers and their beloved pets. Stay tuned for more…

Viyan and Copper

Viyan Poonamallee, a first-year philosophy student at Lang, has a dog named Copper, who his family adopted as a puppy about ten years ago. According to Poonamallee, Copper is a very good boy, at least when eyes are on him. Copper usually just hangs out under his desk during Zoom classes.  

When Copper is not chilling under Poonamallee’s desk, he likes to hide around their home. “I just see him lazing about in random corners of the house. Unless it’s one of the times where something relating to him is happening –– like it’s dinner time or it’s time to take him out–– he [Copper] is just sulking in the background. Very cat-like in that sense… like one of those quieter dogs.”

Poonamallee said Copper has had a difficult time adjusting to the change in climate after moving from New York to San Diego, California with their family during the pandemic. The hotter and drier Southern California climate has caused Copper’s skin to become dry and he itches and bites at his fur more often now, he said. Despite this, according to Poonamallee, Copper’s mellow attitude has not changed at all.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Copper’s owner. He is Viyan Poonamallee, not Poonamelle or Poonamalle.