After the long hours of shaping young minds, teachers of Lancer Nation come home to their pets and unwind. Pets play a significant role in people’s lives providing companionship, stress relief and affection.

At school, teachers spend all day managing, teaching, and helping their students. After a long day, coming home to loving pets is a great way to help them decompress.

BANDOS

Freshman science teacher Sebastian Vollmar got his bearded dragon named Bandos because he “always wanted a funky unusual pet.”

According to Vollmar, Bandos’ favorite foods are isopods, worms, kale, and fruit. One of Bandos’ favorite things to do is lay on his very own hammock all day long.

COCO & TICO

Spanish teacher Carolyn Morse has a white cat, Coco, and an orange cat, Tico. Morse said that “it was her son who convinced her to get cats.”

“My son made an entire Google Slides presentation on the benefits of cats; I was sold and haven’t looked back,” Morse said.

Coco loves to eat plastic and lettuce while Tico is very talkative.

Morse’s cats “scared the daylights” out of her one day when they escaped.

“My cats are indoor cats but one day my son had opened the third floor windows when they were only a few months old, and they escaped to the roof,” Morse said. “They were over 30 feet up just hanging out while I was inside having a heart attack.”

INDY & SABRINA

English teacher Elizabeth Juster owns a dog named Indiana, also known as Indy, and a black cat named Sabrina.

Sabrina considers herself to be superior to Indy, and bosses him around whenever she can. Indy has been at Juster’s side ever since she broke her leg, following her around everywhere.

Indy was even in Juster’s daughter’s wedding, which she said was “very cute.”

Juster remembers the time Sabrina’s sweet tooth was finally shown.

“Sabrina jumped on the dining room table and directly through the box that held a cake,” Juster said. “We screamed and she ran off, leaving behind a trail of blue and white frosting in the shape of cat paws.”

OLLIE

German teacher Brooke Ent, better known as “Frau”, owns a tortie cat named Ollie. When dropping off donations at a local shelter, Frau spotted a beautiful cat and instantly fell in love.

“I begged my uncertain parents, but when the volunteer mentioned that she had been in the shelter longer than any other cat, that was the final straw. She had to come home with me,” Ent said.

Ollie loves ice cream and will sit near you whenever you’re eating.

“She will sit and howl, and try to poke her little paw into the bowl, or sneak up to try to steal a lick directly from the spoon,” Ent said.

Since Ollie is a tortoiseshell cat, and her coat has “such a beautiful pattern.” Ollie’s coat is of a gender-linked color and the tortie breed is almost all girls

MAGGIE

Health teacher Holly Lafore’s Bernese Mountain Dog, named Maggie, is the fourth Bernese her family has raised.

One of Maggie’s favorite activities is going to the barn where Lafore’s daughter has her riding lessons. Maggie loves to spend time with her family as well.

“She is the most adorable dog who always loves being with us,” Lafore said.

ISABEL, SUNNY, KITT, & COSMO

Chris Pantazis, who is the in-school suspension support teacher, owns two cats named Isabel and Sunny. Sunny is named after the Grateful Dead song “China Cat Sunflower” and was a gift from a class of ‘83 graduate. He also has one dog named Kitt who’s named after Kitt Lane in Londonderry, and a Cockatiel Bird Cosmo.

“Kitt was found wandering around a Londonderry neighborhood, abandoned, by a former IT specialist here at LHS,” Pantazis said. “He posted the dog’s picture in the faculty lounges, and my wife and I went and saw him, fell in love, and took him home.”

Cosmo and Kitt are obsessed with each other and love to spend lots of time together

“Cosmo loves Kitt and whenever Kitt needs to go out we walk by Cosmo’s cage,” Pantazis said. “Cosmo yells and screeches at Kitt until he comes inside.”

Pantazis adores Isabel, who is a special and very rare cat.

“Isabel is an absolutely beautiful, little white Albino cat with stunning blue eyes and pink ears.” Pantazis said.

DENALI

Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Jennifer Anderson has a labradoodl

e dog named Denali. Denali knows many tricks, such as standing up on her hind legs. She also loves to chase squirrels and chipmunks all around.

Just like any ordinary dog, Denali loves squirrels.

“She thought that she could climb a tree to get a squirrel,” Anderson said. “She must’ve stared it down for a couple of minutes.”

But, unlike any usual pup, Denali loves to hike up mountains all around NH.

“Denali has hiked 4,000 foot mountains,” Anderson said.

BANE

Computer Science teacher Tyler Mastromarino owns a dog named Bane. Bane is an energetic dog that is also a rescue. Bane was brought home during Mastromarino’s first rescue visit.

Bane loves to show off his skills to anyone who is willing to watch.

“He is amazing with tricks, and he does pretty much everything except for flipping and being able to quiet down,” Mastromarino said.

ZOE

Librarian Michelle Wooding owns a dog named Zoe. Their family got Zoe from Woodings cousin in North Carolina.

Zoe is quite different from a normal dog, considering she doesn’t particularly like water.

“My dog hates the water,” Wooding said. “Luckily she has long legs and can easily jump over puddles.”

MILA

Special Education counselor Sara Bernard has a German Shepherd named Mila. Mila is the second German Shepherd her family has owned. The first German Shepherd they owned was named Kaiser, and lived until he was 14 years old. They got Mila before he passed.

Mila loves a family pool day as she enjoys swimming with her family.

“Mila is always the first family member in the pool,” Bernard said. “She enjoys sitting on the pool steps to cool off on a hot day.”
Mila loves when guests come over to visit her family, and even has her own unique way to greet them.
“When we have a guest at our house, Mila will always find a shoe and run around with it in her mouth to welcome them,” Bernard said. “She will then lay down and ask for a belly rub.”

COSTELLO
Spanish teacher Paula Bartlett has a yellow labrador retriever named Costello. Bartlett got Costello after she lost her previous lab.
“About 6 months after losing AJ, I started looking at puppy pictures,” Bartlett said. “Several LHS teachers had labradors from the breeder I got Costello from.”
Costello loves to go on walks around the neighborhood, even though it stresses Bartlett out.
“He often throws himself on the ground on his back,” Bartlett said. “Sometimes in the middle of the street and refuses to get up.”

SASSYFRASS, MAGIC & BROWNIE
English teacher Teraysa Majewski has two cats and a rabbit. Majewski’s older cat is named Sassyfrass, her younger cat Magic and rabbit Brownie.
“Sassyfrass was adopted shortly after my childhood cat passed away, Magic we adopted because we saw an ad for his adoption online and couldn’t resist,” Majewski said. “My Rabbit we adopted because we wanted another rabbit after our first one passed away.”
Majewski’s house is always filled with animals.
“Magic grew up in Mississippi as an outdoor kitten before making his way up north as a travel companion for another shelter cat,” Majewski says. “Sassy was very close with my first rabbit Skits, as we adopted them around the same time. They were both younger than 2 years old, so they practically grew up side by side. When Skits got sick and passed away, Sassy took notice.”
Before getting her rabbit Brownie, she had a rabbit named Skitts; they were best friends. Coincidentally, Skits are the same color and breed as Skits.
“When we brought Brownie home, Sassy did not leave his side,” said Majewski. “When Brownie leaves his hutch to roam the living room, they will cuddle together in their basket by the window. I know she misses her buddy and that she’s glad to have another bunny friend in the house.”

JET
English teacher Jaclyn Hoffman has a beagle mutt named Jet. Hoffman got Jet during the pandemic to ease her anxiety, but Jet is the more anxious one.
Jet has some interesting quirks, being a pandemic pup.
“He’s obsessed with socks,” said Hoffman. “He’ll wake up from a dead sleep to steal my socks if he hears me taking them off.”
Jet does know how to do some things well though, such as swimming.
“Jet loves to swim. He taught himself how to use the ladder since our pool doesn’t have stairs,” Hoffman said, “He’s a dumb, silly boy.”