Harley Quill

According to The University Daily Kansan, in Dec. 2008, a former Free State student, Judson King, successfully petitioned the

city to legalize the ownership of hedgehogs. Because of his efforts, current student junior Breahna Randall can own her pet hedgehog named Harley Quill, legally.

Randall said that like other hedgehogs, Harley Quill is super curious and loves to explore, especially when she was younger. To satisfy this need, Randall and her family add things to Harley Quill’s cage for her to play with.

“She would get her face stuck in [toilet paper tubes] because she’s so small. She would walk around with an empty toilet paper roll on her head,” Randall said.

Coco

Junior Fiorella Leistner has a warm and welcoming dog, even though she said

people traditionally think of the breed as mean and aggressive. Her dog is likely not one of the breeds that popped into your head. She has a black Chihuahua named Coco, who was named this by her brother because she said her brother is basic and boring. Coco is four years old and has been a part of Leistner’s family since 2021.

“Coco is adorable; she’s my little princess … I think my mom actually loves her more than me,” Leistner said. “She’s cuter than your average Chihuahua, and she’s very friendly as well.”

For Leistner, Coco helps to defeat the stereotype that Chihuahuas are mean dogs who will snap at you for no reason. To everyone who has a negative opinion of small dogs, Leistner says they simply need to meet her dog and change their opinion.

Quincy

Freshman Darby Bates went from having what he said was the slowest accelerating dog breed to the fastest. Last August, Bates

and his family picked out a Whippet named Quincy from a litter named after Olympic stars. Like most young dogs, Bates said Quincy chews anything possible.

“He chews everything we own. For example, he chewed my library card, my shoes, and even my mom’s nail polish,” Bates said.

Beardie

Admitting a lack of creativity in the name, senior Kara Unckless has owned Beardie the bearded dragon for nearly eight years. Beardie was Unckless’s first choice of name, it was simply the only one that stuck. Though, Beardie’s name often leads people to assume she is a male.

Unckless said that Beardie doesn’t do a whole lot until she is ready to eat, when she goes crazy for roaches. While Beardie may not be the most active pet, Unckless said that she likes to take Beardie out of her cage and hold her while watching a movie.

“[Beardie] will just sit on my chest and watch a movie, and when I have friends over, they can all hold her. She’s super chill with other people which is really nice,” Unckless said.