Woynaroski Lab: Biobehavioral Approaches in NeuroDevelopment (BAND)
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
VIP = Very Important Pets
Dutch Woynaroski
Dutch, adopted in 2018, is arguably the most adored pitbull on the planet. He spends his time barking at anything and everything happening outside, rolling over for belly rubs at the first sign of attention from a human, wearing bow ties, and taking long naps. Dutch has a long list of scientific accomplishments, including co-chairing the 2021 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day, serving as a member of the panel workshop on autism treatment efficacy at INSAR, and TA-ing numerous courses in the department. He is adept at pushing Dr. Woynaroski out of her comfy office chair during important zoom meetings.
Honey Funny Sunny Kaysili
Honey was born around July 2021 and was found with her two sisters in the wild. Now she has a 6-year-old human sister (or maybe a mother...). Interrupting Zoom and staring at humans or to the screen while someone is working on the computer are her attention seeking behaviors. She vanishes and reappears at will. You can notice her half ginger face peering out at you while you are finding your clothes, or she looks at you from a pile of smelly clothes while you are putting laundry in the basket. She also enjoys looking outside, watching you patiently while you are cooking, hiding toys or our little belongings under the rugs and around every corner of the house, and doing some light reading with Bahar.
Wally Feldman
Wallace “Wally” Rudolph Feldman was the last in a line of foster cats housed by Jacob/Dr. Feldman during lockdown in 2020 after his adopted senior cat, Momma, crossed the rainbow bridge. Wally was not happy at Williamson County Animal Shelter; they did not think that they would be able to adopt him out and actually clipped his ear just in case they decided to release him back into the wild. Within about 10 minutes at the Feldman household, he dropped the tough guy façade and was quickly declared a foster fail! He enjoys playing with toys, sleeping in the sun, and laying on keyboards during Zoom meetings.
Penny Dunham
Penny became a research assistant under Kacie's guidance in 2019, though she was rescued by Kacie's family when Kacie was in high school. Penny is an excellent office assistant and lap kitty; her talents include knocking pens off of the desk and being an attentive Zoom audience member for about 30 minutes of any Zoom talk. When she's not working hard (or hardly working) as an office assistant, she enjoys playing modified "fetch" with her toy mice and sleeping on people's feet.
Charlie Williams
Charlie is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and internationally-adored fluffball imported from Celldömök, Hungary. He lives in Nashville with his humans (Zack and Zsanett) and his brother Cody. Coming from a line of European dog show champions, Charlie has never worked a day in his life, and he spends most of his time sleeping atop his humans’ couch, chasing after laser pointers, and sampling table food from Nashville’s many great restaurants. Since coming to Music City, Charlie has been pursuing a side-gig as a singer-songwriter, serenading nearby humans with the goal of securing some of their much-coveted dinner. He loves big dogs, showing off, anything edible, and belly rubs from a select few humans.
Cody Williams
Cody is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who grew up on a farm in West Plains, MO. Since coming to Nashville as a puppy, Cody has adapted to city life, working as a professional lapdog for any human who will have him. He also adores his adopted brother Charlie, who is both his role model and one of the only dogs he actually enjoys spending time with. In his spare time, Cody loves cuddling his humans, running, swimming, chasing after leaves, getting pet by strangers, and trying to answer the age-old question of how many licks it takes to get to the center of Zack's face. He dislikes big dogs, haircuts, rainy days, and not having Charlie within his field of vision.
June Mailapur
June is the most adorable, smart, sassy, and vocal companion in the world. She loves to play like crazy with pink fur balls, socialize in her cat language with all of Nisha's friends, and loves to cuddle in the mornings. June has definitely made Nisha feel like the most lucky cat girl in the world! While indulging in multiple post-feast siestas during the day, she is also busy at work as a college girl cat therapist. Yes, June is a great cat, but she has definitely pulled some sassy and smart tricks, like turning on the bathroom sink with her own little paws when Nisha is not at home. However, with a little bit of positive reinforcement and her own, automatic cat sink, all is well.
Giggles Schwartz
Giggles is a Cavalier King Charles and Bichon Frise mix born March 3, 2015. He loves long walks, belly rubs, sprinklers, taking over his humans’ beds, and rolling in the Connecticut snow. He’s extra special with one blue eye and one brown one! He was named by 12-year-old Ava who said “you can’t yell at a dog named Giggles without laughing”.