Every two weeks, the Patriot will randomly pick a student from the directory, find out more about his or her life, and prove that every student has a story.

Not many students have to deal with goats jumping into their tractors, but junior Shannon Olsen deals with this on a daily basis. “I was driving the tractor helping clean out the boy [goats’] area and the three boys decided that they wanted to jump into the cart. As I was driving, [one of the goats] jumped up on my lap and just stood there as i was driving the tractor around,” Olsen said.

Olsen’s love of animals came at an early age. Her family’s first pets were two dogs named Cleo and Callie that they got when Olsen was just two years old. “My first two pets that I personally owned were guinea pigs named Gilderoy and Harper. I got them when I was nine years old,” Olsen said.

Now her home is full of pets. In March 2011, Olsen’s family bought ten goats. “Ever since my mom was little she dreamed of having goats, and a about a year ago, she just decided that time wasn’t slowing down, and if she did not get them soon then she would never have them. I am so glad that they have become part of our family,” Olsen said.

The goats are some of her favorite animals. “My goats are so sweet and they basically are like really big lap dogs. They are so much fun to have around,” Olsen said.

“We got Mary Jane and Hannah, two goats, when they were four weeks old and because they were so young, they were bottle fed. Mary Jane is my goat so I was responsible for feeding her. Every time she was finished eating, she would wipe her mouth on my leg, jump on my back, and fall asleep,” Olsen said.

The Olsen family’s involvement in 4H is one of the reasons for their personal zoo of animals. “We have so many goats and rabbits because my four younger siblings are in 4H and the goats are used to show at the Farm Fair. As for the other animals, there really is no specific reason for having them. We have always had a lot of cats,” Olsen said.

Olsen loves all of her pets. “The rabbits are very fluffy and so adorable, and the guinea pigs are just so cute. I love the little noises that they make. The horses are all trained, all of them are able to be ridden and we get to go trail riding,” Olsen said.

“Having so many pets is a lot of work, but they are so awesome to have and I would not trade them for the world,” Olsen said.

 Ashley Beyer is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.