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. Here are their stories.
Vieve and Don Quixote
Vieve Schoenmann, a second-year psychology student at Lang, lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with their partner, Luis, and Don Quixote, a pitbull and mountain cur mix. Schoenmann said that they were comforted by having Don Quixote join in on their Zoom courses. But, they did admit that Don Quixote can be distracting and an annoyance during class.
“He’ll be like right on me or he will put his ass to the camera. Like, bro! Nobody wants to see that!” Schoenmann said.
Having a pet present on Zoom during an intense class sometimes causes awkwardness amongst them and their classmates, Schoenmann said, noting: “Sometimes I’m like, ‘You’re not supposed to be here right now.’ Even though it’s my house and it’s Zoom.”
But Don Quixote’s irresistible charm has resulted in Schoenmann receiving countless private chats over Zoom from adoring classmates who ask what his breed is and swoon over his cuteness.
“In the first week of classes, everyone was messaging me about him. That was just nice,” said Schoenmann. “It helped me feel like it started a conversation with my peers.”
Schoenmann also said that having Don Quixote come with them to virtual school has helped make connecting with classmates easier. “We’re not interacting before class, after class, [or] at the U.C. getting food. It’s harder to get that connection, and I think having a dog kinda makes people reach out,” they said.
Schoenmann noted that Don Quixote had been showing signs of separation anxiety lately. During the pandemic Schoenmann, their boyfriend and Don Quixote got to spend a lot of time together, but now that Luis is working again, Schoenmann thinks Don Quixote might be getting lonely, since he’s gotten used to both of them being around all the time.
“I think he [also has] some attachment issues now because he’s used to being with us all the time,” they said. “But it’s nice. It’s like, I don’t know, it’s nice to have someone to love.”