By Merima Šabanović
As summer heats up, it’s the perfect time to grab a cool drink, find a cozy spot, and enjoy these charming insights into the lives of the pets from our community. Whether you’re a cat lover or a dog enthusiast, we believe in giving equal representation to both paws and claws. So, in the spirit of fun and fairness, we interviewed two of our community’s most beloved pets,a nonchalant Babaganoush and the infamous playful Boomer.
Merima: It is a pleasure to have you with us, Babaganoush! Thank you for agreeing to forfeit a nap to talk to me. Your name is so unique—do you have any Middle Eastern roots?
Babaganoush: No, not at all. I am originally from Switzerland, but my humans love the aubergine dish and thought it would be a nice name for me.
M: I understand you are a global citizen, regularly traveling between Italy and the US supporting your humans trying to have it all. How did you feel about the big move and have you found your American dream?
B: I have been moving around since I was born and I love it. As long as I have my privacy somewhere, I am happy to explore new places.
M: What is your advice to all the cats who want to travel the world?
B: Just go for it! We cats are free, we can go anywhere we want.
M: We’ve heard through the grapevine that you can be very vocal to the pet cam when your humans are away. It is silly that humans don’t understand meow language, but, taking into account their intellectual limitations, what would you like to say to them?
B: Humans are weird, always thinking and overthinking. We cats know that there are no messages or lessons to be given. We mind our own business and live happily all our nine lives.
M: And a warm welcome to you Boomer! You are quite famous in the halls of RockEDU but let’s get the wider community up to speed on your greatness. How did you and Jen become science partners?
Boomer: Back in May of 2022, Jen had just finished running her first half marathon and felt like she was ready for her next big challenge, so she signed up with Rescue City to be a dog foster parent! Shortly after, she picked me up from Brooklyn and I peed in her zipcar on the way home. We’ve been best friends ever since!
M: Can you tell us a bit more about how you support research education at Rockefeller? What is your favorite part of coming into the lab?
B: I see my role as a truly essential one and that is to greet each and every student and mentor to ensure they know they belong in the space… And to provide emotional support too… You know, the usual.
M: As someone so committed to their work of being a “good boy”, how do you find the balance of keeping your independence and partying it up?
B: This is a really tough question and one that I really appreciate. It is really the off-leash hours at Central Park that allow me to party it up. There is nothing like endless tail-chasing and begging for snacks from other dog parents.
M: What is your advice to other research dogs on how to relax? Is there a special toy or a treat that helps you wind down at the end of the day?
B: Relaxing after a hard day’s work (and before one too) is really essential. My end-of-the-day wind-down snack has got to be chicken meatballs from Milo’s Kitchen… I’ve never met Milo, but I love him.
M: And finally, where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your aspirations?
B: In 5 years, I would love a big yard with endless afternoons to lay in the sun and chase the bugs. Maybe even have my own room???!!?
