Pet Friendly College Campuses

Packing a student for college has always been a long and often difficult task for parents. Knowing what to pack and how much to take is important. The mental part is knowing your child is going away, at least for awhile. Now there is an added decision to make when sending your student away to college. Should your student attend a pet friendly college campus, and are there benefits to taking pet to college.

More and more colleges are allowing students to bring pets with them to college campuses. One of the first colleges to allow a pet friendly campus was Stephens College in Columbus Missouri. 2004 was the first year they allowed small pets in their college dorms. This year, Stetson University in Deland Florida will be allowing pets in dorm rooms. However, they are restricting the pets to only one building.

This brings up the issues of restrictions. Most schools have some type of policy or restrictions in place concerning pets in dorm rooms. Some of these restrictions and policies include what size of pet you can bring, what sort of pet, and where you can live with your pet. Most schools restrict the size of the animal to a small animal such as a cat. Your Labrador will probably have to stay at home. Some campuses have rules about animal noise. If your Chihuahua is yappy, he may not fit into college life. Also, most schools place animal dorm rooms in the same building. This makes sense, as animal lovers will be together and more tolerant of other animals in the building.

Experts and college officials see several benefits by allowing a student to have pets in dorm rooms. Schools saw a reduction in students living in dorm rooms who wanted to bring their pets to college with them. Many of these students were opting to bring their pets, but live off campus. more beneficial benefit to bringing pets to college is the easy transition into college life. Adapting to college life seems to be easier for students who bring a pet with them

Another added benefit noted by college officials, is that students who bring their pets to college with them, seem to be less stressed. College life of coruse is stressful, but with the family pet there with the student, stress seems to fade away. This can be due to a number of things. Pets naturally relax us and, they know their owners moods. Also, there is nothing quit relaxing as petting a dog or cat when upset. Fido provides warmth and Fluffy purrs its owner to sleep.

More and more schools are joining the trend of pet friendly college campuses. Search the Internet to see if your college of choice is included. You can also call the registration office to see if they allow pets on campus. Remind them that a pet will ensure more students on campus and will make transition easier for the student.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-09-23-dorm-pets_N.htm
https://www.stetson.edu/secure/apps/wordpress/?p=15013
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5905417/
http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-magazines/dogfancy/dog-fancy-extras/0810-extras/make-your-college-dog-friendly.aspx