The Pet Issue (v.12)

M A G A Z I N E 

Volume 12 

The Pet Issue Winter 2016

contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributor 



contributors contributors contributors EDITORS contributors contributors Darnell Thomas. contributors Mariah contributors Romero contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributor 


DESIGN Mariah Romero 


contributors contributors contributors WORDS contributors Franco contributors Romero. contributors Anaiah contributors Lupton. contributors Charlotte Roberto contributors contributors contributors contributors contributor 

contributors contributors contributors PHOTO contributors Jason contributors Stilgebouer. contributors Jennifer contributors Carrillo. contributors Ysidro Barela. contributors Amy contributors West contributors contributors contributor 















































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contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributors contributor

hello 

Welcome to the Pet Issue! There are reasons why we choose to take 

on the responsibility of caring for a spirit of a different species. 

When we look at dogs, cats, snakes, or even insects, it brings 

out something in us that we didn't know was there. Sometimes 

our pets can even inspire us to live different lifestyles and make 

bold style choices. Why is your pet so special to you? Enjoy. 

Darnell & Mariah 

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AQUA BEAU 

Jason Stilgebouer | Darnell Thomas 

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THE WAY OF THE CAT 

Franco Romero 

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SAINT 

Ysidro Barela | Darnell Thomas 

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THE SECRET (FAMOUS) LIFE OF PETS 

Anaiah Lupton 

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NOAH AND FLUFF FRIENDS 

Amy West 

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HEALING PAWS 

Charlotte Roberto 

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beau 

photography. Jason Stilgebouer | model. Darnell Thomas 

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FRANCO ROMERO 

THE WAY OF THE CAT 

I wouldn’t consider myself a Buddhist. This 

is partially due to my hesitancy to align myself 

with any ideology, any “ism.” I don’t believe 

in blind loyalty to any philosophy, no 

matter how fond I may be of its principles, 

its teachings. Similarly, and perhaps less dramatically, 

I wouldn’t consider myself a cat 

person, although I have kept cats as pets for 

my entire adult life, and most of my childhood 

as well. It’s petty to put up one’s walls 

in deflection of such a trivial label; and yet I 

do it. I have a deep affection for all animals. 

I am a lapsed catholic. Although I no longer 

hold the teachings of Jesus Christ and 

the literature of the bible in my heart in any 

precious way, I feel that I can’t quite shake 

off the influence Catholicism has had on my 

identity. I was named after Saint Francis, 

patron saint of the animals. This has always 

colored an aspect of myself that is very important 

to me: my fondness for non-human 

life; for dogs, for cats, for reptiles, for foreign 

matter that moves through the ocean 

as light shimmers through and across its 

bodies in deep-sea photographs. I believe, 

and always have believed, that we can learn 

from the wildlife and domesticated animals 

around us. They are not concerned with the 

daily struggles that burden you or I. They 

take no pleasure or pain from the thoughts 

or perceptions of their peers. They move 

through the universe in a grace all their own. 

What is mindfulness? For years, I harbored 

a misunderstanding of the word. I never 

actually looked into it, choosing instead to 

believe that my supposed knowledge was 

correct. When I left Catholicism behind as 

a teenager, I found aspects of Buddhism 

not only comforting, but frankly rational: 

the notion that our attachment to the world 

around us is what ultimately causes us pain, 

the idea that when we clear the mind we can 

silence pangs of mental suffering. Mindfulness, 

I believed, was to revel in the calm 

that meditation brings, to allow one’s mind 

to be overtaken by the profound thoughts 

that will ultimately spring forth when 

the breath is slow and measured. In other 

words, I believed mindfulness involved 

the movement and circulation of thought. 

Recently I struck up a conversation with a 

stranger while shopping at Whole Foods. He 

was a Santa Fean Buddhist who was happy 

to answer my questions about his daily prac- 

photography. Jennifer Carrillo 

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tice. There, with microwaveable noodles in 

hand, was where I finally had mindfulness 

explained to me in a way I could understand. 

“To be mindful,” he said, “is to take yourself 

off autopilot.” 

So often in my life, I have believed that in 

order to be alive in a way that was meaningful, 

I was required to be constantly deep in 

thought. The unexamined life is not worth 

living, is it? But of course, if the examination 

never stops, the mind becomes overwhelmed. 

Having one’s mind overwhelmed 

is not to be mindful. To drive to work noticing 

the stoplights, the shape and colors of 

the cars around us, the fonts on the street 

signs that we zoom past each day and to 

really consider them; this is to be mindful. 

Recently, my wife and I moved to a house on 

the edge of Santa Fe. The property is vast; 

more so than any other place we have lived 

together, or apart. In the backyard, a pond is 

filled golden, thin fish. Dead trees loom above. 

Creosote line the edge of the yard and wind 

chimes sing each morning. Our cat, Angel, 

has never been as happy as she has here. Each 

morning, I begin my day by making a pot of 

tea and sipping from my mug while I stand 

near our small, black and white creature. Her 

fur rises in the wind. She sniffs at scents foreign 

to her and watches in a kind of trance as 

birds she has never observed glide overhead. 

In recent years, I have begun to study the 

ancient Chinese religion of Taoism. While it 

is similar to Buddhism in its approach, Tao 

is more mysterious, more elusive. Lao Tzu 

claims that the Tao is moving through each 

of us, nourishing us when we take the time 

to draw from it. But what is the Tao? How 

do we define it? Lao Tzu begins the Tao Te 

Ching, the seminal text of Taoism by claiming 

that the Tao itself cannot be named; 

that to attempt to define it is to lose sight of 

what it means to be a Taoist. So then, how 

does one practice Tao? Lao Tzu seems to 

suggest that we must do so through stillness. 

Over and over, the Tao Te Ching implores 

us to work through inaction. This is tricky. 

We cannot risk interpreting Lao Tzu in a 

way that is harmful to us. We should not 

assume that we are meant to sit idly and refrain 

from daily tasks. While many interpretations 

of the Te Ching are possible and we 

are limited by western perception, I think 

the most useful interpretation of Lao Tzu’s 

words is the idea that stillness, quiet, and 

even what we would call mindfulness allow 

this article is 

dedicated to 

the memory of 

Angel Romero 

us to move forward in our lives. I have seen speaks of ‘The Ten Thousand Things,’ an intimate 

portrayal of the universe. Stillness, focus, 

no better master of this than Angel, the cat 

that shares a home with my wife and I. and the ability to exist in the moment are abilities 

that the animals around us have mastered. 

Look to the animal you have adopted and 

think of what brightens them. We’ve all had Angel’s greatest joy in life comes from standing 

the experience of sensing the lingering eyes in our wide yard, scratching at trees and listening 

to the bending of the wind around the 

of a dog that sits beneath the dinner table, 

imploring us to offer them a scrap of human forms that surround her. And this stillness, too, 

chow. But watch, in your memory, the enjoyment 

that overtakes the dog as it is finally giv- 

on my lap, purring, the sound moving through 

can belong to us. I have felt it when Angel sits 

en the morsel it so desires. Think of its focus, her small body. I have experienced it as I gently 

ran my fingers through the fur on her back, 

its ravenous munching; its ability to be unshaken 

by anything that moves around itself. between her ears. Our pets can be our teachers. 

Observing them, we can find ways to be 

Throughout the Te Ching, Lao Tzu chooses to 

evoke nature as a way of explaining and accessing 

the Tao. He compares virtue to water. He them, holding them close, we can become 

mindful. Sitting with them, walking beside 

so. 

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photography. Ysidro Barela | styling. Darnell Thomas | model. Kevin Sorina 

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ANAIAH LUPTON 

THE SECRET 

(FAMOUS) 

LIFE OF PETS 

Instagram is a social media platform designed for documentative, artistic, and cultural 

engagement. In order to understand this media outlet, one must first note the identities 

or alter egos that individuals apply when using the app. The use of an alter ego 

provides the user with the ability to present this fantasy as though it is reality. These 

identifiers and alter egos are occasionally depicted ironically through the perspective 

of a pet. By using pets as the placeholder or character of these personas, the audience 

is able to experience these cultural connotations with a light hearted approach. Instagram 

is used to make the average person engage with journalism, food documentation, 

comedy, politics, fashion, and art. Instagram as a medium, offers the pet lover an opportunity 

to express their devotion to their pet in a documentative, artistic, or ironic 

light. There are thousands of instagram pages that are dedicated to the documented or 

photographic journaling of a pet’s role in their owner’s life or is documented as though 

the owner is a role in the pet’s life. There are even famous pets that have gained thousands 

of followers based on niche qualities, quirks, talents, or outstanding aesthetics. 

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For example, Tardar sauce, or famously known as 

Grumpy cat, is a dwarf cat who’s mouth is curved downward 

causing a permanent frown. The owner uses this 

quality to convey a sense of irony to what’s going on 

around her. Grumpy cat became famous after a reddit 

post of her was posted by Bryan Bundesen. Bundesen is 

the brother of Tardar Sauce’s owner, Tabatha and found 

her unique disposition as marketable. The relatability in 

Grumpy Cat’s ironic disposition led to her stardom. The 

ability to relate to a cat’s melancholy disposition became 

an inspiration of other animals in human-like scenarios. 

These ironic scenarios Grumpy Cat is put through 

attempts to convey a sense of normalcy amongst the 

disappointments of life . When displayed as a cat, these 

seemingly grumpy events come across as light hearted. 

“I had fun once, It was awful.” 

Jeremy Veach’ instagram positions his pet, Norm the Pug 

as though the dog is the photographer. Often engaging 

in selfies, Norm the Pug is used to mock the cliches of 

instagram. There are a number of individuals on instagram 

that use images taken exclusively on a professional 

camera in order to ensure more credibility or fan base. 

Norm’s owner mocks this sense of professionalism by positioning 

Norm as though he was the photographer. The 

cliches depicted from the perspective of Norm involves 

anything from the trivial daily cup of coffee, to traveling. 

The interesting factor about Norm the pug is that despite 

the use of cliches and identifiable compositions, Norm 

is seen as relatable by his fans.- even though he is a dog. 

Hamilton the hipster cat is used as a social commentary 

on hipster culture. Hamilton has a birthmark on their 

face that resembles a mustache, which is commonly 

seen throughout the hipster community. Cats are notoriously 

represented as independent creatures, which 

is relatable to the hipster scene whose main objective is 

to stay from what is normal towards a more alternative, 

and seemingly independent path. This process of alienation 

and defiance is associated with being, ironically, 

socially acceptable amongst hipsters and “cool”. Hamilton 

the cat is used as a tool to reveal this irony and point 

out the similarities amongst hipsters, which ultimately 

destroys their cause. Despite these factors, Hamilton is 

seen as a social commentary that is humorous and cute. 

In conclusion, these pets are not only cute and relatable 

but provide insight as to the various cultural connotations 

and characters represented through instagram. 

Although instagram is flooded with individuals who 

would not consider themselves professional photographers,many 

engage with the activity and participate in 

the documentative, artistic, and even cultural aspects. 

These famous pets typically represent larger ideas about 

the culture of instagram. Since instagram casts such a 

wide net over society, these alter egos are now ubiquitous. 

This results in a new trend of utilizing pets to break 

up the mundane, while still referencing the endearing 

qualities of these alter egos. Using pets as the image 

bearers of our own culture creates a light hearted or tender 

approach to the ridiculousness of our own trends. 

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FLUFF FRIENDS 

photography, Amy West | models, Noah Trainor, Mildred, Ouija | make 

up artist, Reagan Roby | styling, Noah Trainor, KT Collins, Amy West 

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CHARLOTTE ROBERTO 

HEALING PAWS 

My best friend is a bitch. That’s what the bumper 

sticker on my car says and it’s not wrong. Her 

name is Sarah and she’s a furry and fierce little 

Chihuahua. I rescued her from an underfunded 

shelter in central Texas about two years ago. 

Upon meeting her, I noticed that she was covered 

in dirt and matted fur. Her previous owners left 

her a week prior when they moved out of state, 

claiming that their new home “didn’t allow pets”. 

Sarah was five years old and nine pounds when 

they left her to wander the streets. Quite often, 

people refuse to acknowledge that abandoning a 

domesticated animal is like abandoning a toddler. 

Neither can safely or comfortably live on their 

own without human assistance. Her previous 

owners did not leave any medical history, so the 

first thing I did was take her to a veterinary clinic 

for evaluation. Luckily, she was healthy beyond 

having a minor condition in her knee cap that 

caused some discomfort. I cleaned her up, started 

her on heartworm prevention, and took her home 

to begin our lives together. Today, she is a happy 

eleven pounds of pure joy. Her favorite activity is 

cuddling with her furry sisters, Amelia and Roxie. 

Emotional support animals are an integral part of 

recovery for some of us who suffer from depression 

and anxiety. Sarah has provided this and more for 

me in the time I’ve had her. When she hears me crying, 

she comes and cuddles with me. If I’m sitting, 

she climbs on me so that she can lick the tears off 

my face. Most significantly, she cultivated a passion 

in me that I didn’t know existed: caring for animals. 

In the medical field, this is known professionally 

as “veterinary medicine”. Sarah inspired me to try 

my luck in the field by becoming a receptionist at 

a local veterinary hospital. The job challenged me 

physically, emotionally, and mentally. Puppies and 

kitten visits occurred just as frequently as humane 

euthanasia. Despite the sad moments, the position 

was incredibly rewarding. I made wonderful, lifelong 

friends out of coworkers and learned a plethora 

of information about myself. My career in veterinary 

medicine has just begun and I hope to one 

day return to school to become a veterinarian. 

As simple of creatures they may seem to be, dogs 

are the world’s gift to humankind. They help. They 

heal. Most importantly, they love. 

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Volume 12

The Pet Issue (v.12)

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