Gilbert High school has a good track record of saving animals. Stray dogs, litters of kittens, chickens in the garden have all been part of the Gilbert story. Some teachers have even had classroom pets in the past, of course for educational purposes. Teachers and students alike have pets of there own at home. The Gladiator Times has recently run stories of teachers and their pets.
A former teacher, Mr.Dan Kreyche, was so fond of animals that he rescued a stray dog on campus by securing it in the breeze way until security could track down its owner. He was ready to adopt that dog himself, but luckily a student came forward and the appropriate owner was found. Many of our own teachers have pets who are rescued animals.
(If you’d like to see your teachers’ pets, click here: Gilbert Teachers and Their Rescued Pets
Just this year Mr. Nakayama was contacted by two former Gilbert students who had just graduated. They where experiencing a housing crisis as they’re living situation had changed. As a result they needed help finding a new home for their two dogs. They didn’t want their dogs to end up in a shelter. These where older dogs that needed care. Mr Nakayama quickly took action by asking staff, friends, students if anybody could help. Several people offered to foster the dogs until they could be adopted, but luckily friends of the two Gilbert graduates stepped up and took the dogs to their home.
Everybody here seems to have a soft spot for animals. Just last May another animal story unfolded. Summer Graduation valedictorian, Rubi Orozco Venegas, and her neighbor were desperately seeking help with two puppies from the same litter they had brought to campus on the last day of school. Rubi explained that these dogs needed rescuing immediately because her family was threatened with eviction if she did not act fast. Rubi brought the two dogs (named Bullet and Sky) to school hoping someone here could help. She thought she was in trouble when she was stopped in the parking lot by Ms. Frese, but instead Ms. Frese became so enchanted she volunteered to adopt one. She took Sky home that day. Rubi kept Bullet, and renamed him Chapito! Both puppies have been spayed/neutered respectively, and they are doing great. Rubi and Ms. Frese remain connected through the dogs, and have enjoyed a few play dates since this story unraveled.
If you’re a cat lover, read on! Another example of Gilbert High School’s love of animals comes from Ms. Heida who found and rescued a kitten on our campus…
One morning Ms. Heida got to school and there was a student in her room. He was holding a kitten in his sweatshirt and a can of cat food he brought from the 7-11 near by. He found the kitten on the side of a dumpster where they put in the forklift to Lift up the dumpster. He went and brought the cat food to try and get the cat out of the place it was in. He brought the cat to school and took it to the front office. The office told him that Ms. Heida in room 6 likes cats. She took the cat and kept him with her all day. The cat couldn’t really walk and was dehydrated. Ms. Heida took the cat to the vet and got told that he might not make it, He couldn’t do things on his own and he would barley move.
Eventually he was like a normal cat and they also found out that something was wrong with him. Ms. Heida had found the kitten a home but fell in love with him and ended up keeping him. Her 3 year old nephew named him cheese ball because at the time he loved them. Cheese ball is now 7 years old and does still have a lot of issues.
