Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Posted by Animals at 5:25 PM Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Fido Goes to College

Posted: 06 Jun 2010 12:13 PM PDT

You-call-that-breakfast Thanks to my bestest blog buddy (one of many), Toby Diva Marketing (get her free twitter book where she interviews dozens of experts, including yours truly, about how to use Twitter effectively: it's FREE!), I can now report that more dogs will be seen around college towns this year than ever before.

How is that so? According to this article in the NY Times - Colleges Extend the Welcome Mat to Students' Pets - many colleges now recognize the importance of allowing our kids to bring their very bestest friend with them to college. It can help with that homesickness freshmen experience and it's really, ".. atrend tied directly to the hwole notion of helicopter parenting," according to Dianne Lynch, president of Stephens College, and the owner of a couple of pets, herself. (hey, she should come to BlogPaws West! Woot!)

A psychiatrist is quoted saying this idea could delay the student's "transition". He obviously doesn't own a pet. "By having your pet there," Dr. Koplewicz says, "you could have an excuse not to go out and talk to people." OR... you could take your dog out for a walk and lots of people will talk to you because you have the dog! Duh!

The decision to allow pets in the dorm has created the need for new rules, of course. Dogs shouldn't be allowed to roam free in the room...when the student is in class. We know dogs like to explore and get not things that are not for them, especially any tasty dishes left out. However, if it were me and MY roommate, all bets would be off. I mean, I'd train my dog to behave, and I'd only room with a person who loved dogs as much as I do. So there.Havanese-pup

This is a step forward. Certainly, obstacles will have to be overcome; if a dog barks too much, someone has to deal with that. If your roommate is allergic to your cat, get a new roommate. Seriously. If others in the dorm are not pet-friendly, why are you going to school there? No...what I mean is...if your dorm-mates are not pet-friendly, you must be sensitive to their feelings. Keep your dog in your room, in his crate, and walk him frequently. (maybe you'll have classes that accept dogs.)

There is a stipulation, I believe... the pet has to be a small pet. <sigh> This allows cats, I suppose. And little dogs.

I wonder if this trend will catch on with veterinary colleges and vet tech colleges. Seems like a no-brainer. What do you think? Would you bring Fido or Fluffy to school with you?

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