Animal Appreciation Day is a big hit for Medina FFA
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Evie Schultz, a Medina FFA member, holds a bantam chick that was quite popular during today’s Animal Appreciation Day in the high school. The Medina FFA puts on the event each year. It was scheduled for last week, but the temperatures were only in the 30s so it was pushed back until today.
More than 1,000 students, from the youngest elementary kids to seniors in high school, stopped by the FFA to see animals as small as a mouse to as big as a Morgan horse.
Ryenn Oliver, a junior, feeds a llama an apple from her teeth. The llama is owned by the FFA and Ryenn has developed a close bond with it.
Makayla Heideman, a freshman, brought her hedgehog, Sonic, to the Animal Appreciation Day. The hedgehog is about 2 months old. This was the first time a hedgehog was part of the Medina FFA animal showcase.
Cora Payne, a junior, shared her Morgan horse, Zoey, with students today.
Camryn Eick, a seventh grader, introduced students to her family’s tortoise, Frankie Lynn. Camryn’s father, Todd, is the FFA advisor and agriculture teacher.
Marguerite Brakenbury tended to a calf that was on loan from Charlie Hartway’s organic dairy farm in Medina.
A mouse made its debut today for Animal Appreciation Day. Jacob Bensley, a senior, brought in the family’s pet mouse named Alonzo.
“We have a lot of big animals here,” he said. “I wanted to bring in a small animal just to switch it up.”
Oliver Wilson, a seventh grader, brought in a Muscovy duck, another new creature to Animal Appreciation Day. The duck stayed still while being petted by the students.
“They like him a lot,” Oliver said about the duck. “He’s kind of exotic. He’s really calm and not freaking out in the cage.”
