In North Carolina, pets are popular to have. Around 58% of the population owns at least one pet, and the national average is even higher at 70%. This means a vast majority of people in the country have a pet. One of these people is a counselor here at Page. Ms. Upson is the owner of four pets, two dogs and two cats. The cats are named Pigeon and Gladus, and the dogs are named Ellie and Onyx. Ellie’s name was chosen for her because Ms. Upson met a person named Ellie and decided to use it. This is not uncommon- a lot of people give their pets human names, sometimes after people they’ve met in their lives.  I personally don’t find this strange because my family has always given our pets human names. However, some pet owners choose to give their pets names based on correlation to their personality or appearance. Onyx got her name because the name seemed fitting to her appearance, and Pigeon’s name was chosen because she was skittish. Ms.Upson shared a story about Gladus, saying that she chews on the corner of the TV. My cat does something a little similar to this- she licks the blinds when they are closed, and she doesn’t stop until the blinds are opened or someone moves her away from the window. Pets are important to a lot of people. They make our lives better by making us happy after a hard day.