Sadie is a leopard gecko, meaning that unlike most geckos, she blinks! This helps clean her eyes and shields the world from her cold, frightening gaze—if only for a moment. She spends most of her time hiding in her cave, but will occasionally come out to eat crickets or absorb some of the heat provided by her lamp.

Baby is a domestic short-hair cat. I did not name her, but did not change it because she comes to it when called. I rescued her when she was four and I have had her for seven years. She loves attention, on her terms. Her favorite things include: positioning herself directly in front of people’s faces while they’re trying to watch TV, scratching the door to get out of my room only to scratch to get back in 30 seconds later, and drinking from the toilet despite having two clean bowls of water at all times.

This is Mrs. F. Scott (Scotty) Fitzgerald. My family rescued her from a shelter in Mississippi. She is part of the Lost Generation of dogs who need continuous support from their adopters. Her new home may not be Paris, but I like to imagine that she feels inspired and reinvigorated by the familial love and the big backyard. Like her namesake, she is overly emotional and a bit dramatic. Despite her flaws, everyone loves her and we are all pulling for her to achieve great success. She may never write the Great American Novel, but hopefully, she will pass her training classes.