Remembering Carl Beloved classroom pet passes away

by Ahmed Sharara staff reporter

Class pets hold a special place in school culture. From reptiles to rodents, class pets foster a sense of entertainment, responsibility and empathy amongst students. Within a short period of time, a class pet becomes a member of the class just the same as any other student. Mounds View High School is no stranger to class pets; however, one of the most revered was Carl the hamster.

acknowledge how in Carl’s last few days he was no longer his usual energetic self. “He was acting very strangely in the morning with our bio class. I could sort of tell something was off. And then at the end of the day, I was very shocked. He was very still and wasn’t breathing very well,” said Elledge.

Despite the tragic loss, students have decided not to dwell on Carl’s death, but instead celebrate his life and the impact he had. Some students have started telling stories of their fond memories of Carl. “My fondest memory of Carlis spending a physics class with him or crawling around on my desk so I don’t get bored,” said Renstrom.

Other students also recalled memories of feeding as being their favorite memories of Carl. “My fondest memory of Carl was when I fed him a bit of an orange slice,” said senior Ali Habisch.

While some were fascinated by Carl and his playful demeanor, Cartwright was most fond of Carl for the there was curiosity about some of Carl’s behaviors. And so I think one of the things in science is that you have to be a good observer. And I think a lot of students would observe Carl’s behavior and that was educationally appropriate,” he said.

As Carl’s death has left Cartwright’s classroom missing its star pet, many students have started to suggest a replacement. Some have suggested gerbils and ducks, while others have suggested another hamster. There are also those who have called for replacing Carl with a hedgehog. Cartwright has seemed intrigued by the idea of a hedgehog. “I think the leading contender other than hamsters or gerbil would probably be the possibility of a hedgehog,” he said.

However, students shouldn’t expect another class pet anytime this school year. “I don’t want to replicate it [class pet experience] this late in the school year, because then I have to be concerned about the summer care for this pet. And so it might be something that I started in the fall,” said Cartwright.

So, although this year will likely close out without a new class pet in Cartwright’s classroom, the memories of Carl and the impact he had on his classes will continue to aid students during stressful times. Students can also look optimistically to the fall as Cartwright’s class will be the home of a new class pet.

Carl, named after the famous astronomer Carl Sagan, was the class pet of science teacher Michael Cartwright.

Carl was greatly adored by the students of Cartwright’s classes. He provided students great comfort and escape from the stress of school. Many felt that Carl helped foster a more motivating environment. “Carl made a lot of people more interested in actually getting to physics or like actually going to physics because then there was like something to see... [Carl] made people happy to go to physics,” said junior Katie Renstrom.

Renstrom is not the only student who appreciated Carl for the positive atmosphere he brought. “He was fuzzy and innocent. Whenever students would get stressed about physics or school in general, they would often go play with Carl,” said junior Annabelle Huang. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, as Carl died on March, 28, 2023. Many, such as Gwen Elldege, a student teacher in Cartwright’s class,

“The beginning of class feels different because there are no more people gathering around his cage.” impact he left on students. “Just the excitement that some students had to see Carl and to get Carl out and interact with Carl. So the student responding to Carl was what I enjoyed the most,” said Cartwright. Cartwright was also glad that students were learning empathy and observation skills while tending to Carl. “Students really learned about empathy and treating other living things appropriately. And I think

“During labs and worktime he was a welcome distraction that helped all the students de-stress.”

“It feels weird not seeing him and hearing him run around on the hamster wheel.”

“He’d always climb to the top of his little wheel and end up falling off with a thump and our whole class would burst out laughing.”

“[Carl] made people happy to go to physics.”

“My fondest memory of Carl was when I fed him a bit of an orange slice.”