pet friendly dorm in missouri

Pet-friendly dorm debuts at Missouri college
Small dogs, cats, rabbits welcome in experimental program

Don Shrubshell / Columbia Daily Tribune
Alexandra Geisler gets a kiss from her Jack Russell Terrier named Abbey Road in her dorm room at Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. The animals are part of a pilot program that will allow students and their pets to live together in the residence hall.
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:25 p.m. ET Sept. 13, 2004COLUMBIA, Mo. - Since coming to Stephens College, Abbey Road is making friends with her energetic personality, intense eyes and uninhibited kisses — especially when the little dog is thrown a slobber-slick tennis ball.

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The Jack Russell terrier moved in last week with owner Alexandra Geisler at the college’s Prunty Hall, where the first floor debuted as a pet-friendly zone for dogs, cats and rabbits.

“It means everything to me. I am so much happier when Abbey is around,” says Geisler, a 20-year-old sophomore from Long Island, N.Y.

While Stephens is not the first to allow pets, most colleges and universities only permit fish or small reptiles, with legally required exceptions for service animals.

Reasons for excluding the pets include noise, smell, allergies and concerns about bites and scratches. And there’s a potential for neglect when the appeal of a cute pet is overtaken by the hectic pace of student life.

Animal shelters in college towns frequently take in more abandoned pets when school is out. At Stanford University, a rescue society unaffiliated with the school has been established for stray cats around campus, many of them abandoned.

But Stephens, a women’s college founded in 1833, didn’t jump into its pet-friendly experiment haphazardly, said Wendy Libby, who became president last year.

“There were lots of discussions, but students asked for this — so after the knee-jerk reaction that we cannot do it, we started talking about practical ways we could allow some pets,” Libby said.

Starting small
Dogs must be 40 pounds or less. All pets must be kept in crates or cages when the student is out of the room. A fenced dog run has been built outside Prunty. And the program will be evaluated constantly, including whether pet noise is below an acceptable level.

They’re starting small. Five students are sharing space with pets in the new semester — two dogs, two cats and two rabbits. Stephens also is working with a local animal shelter to link select students with homeless pets.

“My mom was like, ’Are you sure you want to do this?’ But it is very well thought out and I’m going to work to make it a success,” said Bethany Dean, 19, a junior from Dallas who adopted a female Himalayan cat named Fluffy.

‘If this helps our Stephens students feel more at home and helps them excel, the program may be expanded.’


— Wendy Libby
President, Stephens College

The cat tilted its head in curiosity, then went back to snuggling her owner as Danielle Gibbs, 19, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., walked by with her two rabbits, Fleur and Elphie.

“I’m excited to have the rabbits here. I am one of those people, when I’m upset, I tend to hold it back and hold it in, but I can just hold my rabbits and it calms me down,” Gibbs said.

The Delta Society, a nonprofit group that promotes welcoming pets to workplaces, says ample research backs up the notion that pets have a soothing presence. Studies have shown visits by gentle dogs and cats to nursing homes reduce loneliness and can even lower blood pressure, said Michelle Cobey, the group’s resource coordinator.

Libby said there’s no doubt college life can be stressful.

“We acknowledge that, and we are a student-centered institution, and if this helps our Stephens students feel more at home and helps them excel, the program may be expanded.”

'Pet wing' a success
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that while there is no central database of pet policies on campuses, most schools bar any pets — as do many off-campus landlords.

But at the State University of New York at Canton, the “Pet Wing” of Mohawk Hall has welcomed animals since 1996. It has two dozen pet-friendly rooms for a maximum of 48 pets, and “has been a huge success,” said school spokesman Richard Fujita. If owners are around, pets are permitted to roam freely in the wing. Many of the residents are veterinary students, and the chance to bring along their pets has lured them to the school, Fujita said.

On other campuses, the rules are strict. At Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, birds, gerbils, hamsters and nonpoisonous snakes are the only pets allowed in dorms.

Lisa Marsalek, Case Western’s associate housing director, said a rabbit was once evicted.

“It was wandering everywhere,” she said, “and you can’t have that — you know how you can suddenly have a lot of rabbits.”

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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I wish pets were allowed when I was in college. I had to give up a cat to a shelter because I could find no one to take care of her (Captain kitty). I found her while on a school break and my parents refused her. My college dorm would not allow pets larger than birds and I had no friends or family that would take her in.

 

living not too far from one of the largest universities in NH I hate to see college students allowed to have pets. This town, Plymouth, has a HUGE population of homeless/feral cats due mostly to college students. My sister used to clean at this college and she once brought home a kitten, left behind at the end of the school yet - poor thing was trying to survive out of a dumpster (kitten not my sister).

I'm sure many students are responsible enough to fully care for their pets - but there are probably many more who aren't.

I also remember the day I was at the vet's office and a young female college student had her young rottie there. This pup had a hind leg chock full of surgical pins and a cast over them. I asked her what happened. She let the dog run around a night. Lo and behold the pup got hit by a truck. She appeared shocked by it. I looked her in the eye and in my regarding animals forthright approach asked her what she thought would happen with a young nearly all black dog running around loose at night.

I commended her for taking the dog quickly to the vet until I heard her tell the receptionist "here's my father's credit card he told me to use this to pay the bill".

 

I agree with you Mary. I think most college kids are not responsible enough to take care of pets in school. There should be a few exceptions. Careful screening should be done. A college friend gave me 2 parakeets on my 18th birthday. I was dumb enough to accept them. I don't think they received the proper care and attention they deserved.

 

poor baby good thing your sister found him. some people really shouldn't have pets. i hope that they allow cats when i go to collage. shadows my baby and every time i leave her for more than a day she gets mad at me and ignores me. if they did allow cats id probly have a hard time keeping her in the dorm. she's an inside cat.

 

poor baby good thing your sister found him. some people really shouldn't have pets. i hope that they allow cats when i go to collage. shadows my baby and every time i leave her for more than a day she gets mad at me and ignores me. if they did allow cats id probly have a hard time keeping her in the dorm. she's an inside cat and sometimes manages to get out, but she never gojes off the sidewalk next to my house. she gets on it and starts rolling around being a pritty girl