Opinion: Should College Students Have Pets?

This year, I noticed an increase in pet ownership among my fellow students. Perhaps this was due the move into our own apartments and houses and out of dorms and Greek houses. This raised some debate between my friends as to where to draw the line of what kind of pets a college student should have. Most college dorms do not allow anything more than a fish, which is fair. Personally, I think you can draw the line at a small rodent; perhaps a guinea pig or a hamster. But dogs? Come on. Unless you are a recluse or enjoy staying in and therefore spend most of your time in your room, house or apartment, it is beyond your capability and responsibility to own a dog in college. Yes, there are pros to owning a dog–they attract a lot of admirers with their cuteness and their rarity on college campuses, they are a nice companion, they bring joy to your life. Don’t get me wrong, I am a complete dog person! But the cons outweigh the pros. You are responsible for another living thing, you must give it attention, feed your dog according to his nutritional needs, take it out to do its business, you cannot leave it for extended periods of time, and if you go out of town, you must find someone else to take care of it. Not to mention maybe a college dorm or house is not the best place to keep a dog; a place where there is constant loud noise, alcohol, tons of people.

As a college student, you lead a pretty spontaneous life. Aside from classes, you do not have a strict schedule, you probably don’t have anyone to answer to, and you don’t really plan ahead of time. You want to be able to do anything with your friends at the drop of a hat, but with an animal like a dog, you lose that freedom and accessibility.

If you really want a pet, get a fish that you have to feed once a day or a hamster that can entertain itself for hours and does not need to be let out to do its business, but don’t put yourself in the position of taking care of an animal like a dog even if you think you are the most responsible person for the job. You can wait a couple years to take on that responsibility!

[image via giphy]

What do you think about having a dog in college?

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