RANDOM REFLECTIONS: A Life with Animals

Question: What do college students and companion animals have in common?

Answer: Among other contributions to retired folks, both challenge us with new ideas and skills to keep us on our toes as we age.

Thanks to a teaching career at Humboldt State University and my plot of land in Freshwater, I have had the opportunity to learn from hundreds of students and scores of animals — canines, equines, felines, rodents, ferrets, reptiles, birds, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, rabbits and fish.

But the most exotic animal to tutor me was an 8-inch-long, half-pound “illegal alien” named Mr. Ivy. A Humboldt State student, Jackie, had smuggled in the African pigmy hedgehog — banned in California — when she arrived from the East Coast. Planning a semester break trip during her senior year, she asked if I could care for the fugitive. Normally a law-abiding citizen, I was motivated by curiosity and the allure of rebellion, so I agreed to hedgehog-sit.

Jackie brought Mr. Ivy to my house in a small cage with a custom-made exercise wheel to protect his fragile toes and a heating pad to keep him at a consistent warm temperature. She encouraged me to let Mr. Ivy roam around an enclosed room to give him additional exercise and to satisfy his natural curiosity. She gave me a month’s supply of food and bedding and wished us both farewell.

What began as a temporary pet-sitting gig turned into a long-term commitment; with barely an apology for “bailing out,” Jackie graduated and moved away, and Mr. Ivy became a permanent, albeit illicit, Freshwater resident.

I learned a lot about hedgehogs — fast! When the heating pad under his cage burned a hole in the carpet, I moved him to a non-flammable surface. After he disappeared under the bed, I learned how to set up a maze that was challenging but safe. Ivy taught me how to earn trust and affection from a timid and solitary creature, and how to pet a mammal with spikes instead of fur.

CUTE AND SPIKY — Hedgehogs can be popular and affectionate pets.

I learned that nocturnal pets often spend their nights spinning in a squeaky wheel. After desperately and unsuccessfully scouring local pet stores for hedgehog food, I learned how to surf the internet and order online, a competency I had not yet perfected in 1999.

Mr. Ivy was endearing. He would crawl into my lap, gently take treats from my fingers and let me rub behind his teardrop-shaped ears.

I learned many lessons from Mr. Ivy, the illegal alien, beyond practical uses of the internet. For example, he showed me how to approach a newcomer with patience and compassion, and how to turn a prickly outsider into a warm and trusted friend — techniques that work with people, too.

Susan Bennett is an author, emerita Humboldt State English professor and animal lover living in Freshwater. Email: sgbennett70@gmail.com.