Ginger: The Campus Dog
Ginger: The Campus Dog
by Juan Ochoa
Many students and faculty at Taft College have had the privilege of knowing Ginger, the campus dog, but few actually know her story.
Ginger’s story starts with her mother, Sugar, whom according to Mike Capela, the Director of Maintenance and Operations at Taft College, was the first campus dog. Sugar was a stray who had made the campus her home over time. Mike also noted that sugar may have came from an abusive home due to the fact that it took him over a year of trying to pet her. Sugar had two pups. The male was adopted by a maintenance worker at the college, and the female lab mix was named Ginger; who like her mother took the campus as her home.
Mike took Ginger in and made her the campus dog after sugar passed away from natural causes. He had Ginger licensed by the City, keeps her up to date on her shots, and has had tags made for her saying Taft College on them.
Ginger, like her mother, likes to roam around and adventure around the area surrounding the school.
Laura Riss, from the dental hygiene building also helped solve the mystery on how Ginger gets clean. Ginger runs through the sprinklers to bathe herself. Laura also tells us that Ginger prefers people food over dog food and that Ginger loves dog treats.
Another mystery was where does Ginger sleep? She has four beds scattered around the college campus and the maintenance yard. Ginger has been around the school for thirteen years now. Due to her age she has become somewhat hard of hearing and toned down her exploring.
Her favorite thing to do is just to sit down on a patch of grass around campus.
Ginger can be seen throughout the day following Tino, the landscaper. When night comes around, Ginger will follow Margaret, one of the night securities, on her night rounds and then head to her dog house.
Although, Ginger is a sassy dog, everyone at the college, students and faculty alike, knows that she is a part of the culture that is Taft College.
A special thanks to Mike Capela, Margaret Buddell, Laura Riss, Michaela Young, and the cafeteria staff for everything they do for Ginger.