Your Companion as Your College Roomie?
In USA Today an article about a growing trend was reported, showing schools that have “pet friendly” housing. What does this mean? You can room with your companion on campus and don’t have to get off campus housing.
In some cases, this is a pretty good deal. If you’re like my friend Alison who had Cow the rat in her college dorm room (when she wasn’t supposed to), it makes a lot of sense. After all a rat is a small animal who’s style won’t be cramped by the size of the living space. But what about bigger animals? Should a dog be forced to live in dime sized room? Can college kids afford all the vet bills, food, etc that go along with having a companion? What if they want to study abroad?
The article says:
Still, the notion of making it easier for college kids to have pets isn’t universally applauded. The chaos of campus life, the tendency among young people to make impulsive choices, and the vagaries of postgraduation life make many students poor candidates for pet ownership, some experts say. Shelters in many college towns report end-of-semester pet dumping or abandonment.
Many schools only allow students who already had companions to board with them. Meaning that they wouldn’t support impulsive decisions to get an animal. For students who like being around animals but can’t commit to the 10-20 year commitment, fostering in these dorms might be an option:
“I’d say we’ve had about a dozen cats or dogs from (a local rescue group) that students have cared for until they got permanent homes,” Duren says.
This my friends is not a story with an easy answer. Goods and bads can both be argued. I remain skeptical but at the same time, see the positives it offers.
(Why the picture? That’s my little Cthulhu. And no it’s not relevant to the article, but it’s totally cute)
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