With springtime and warm weather quickly approaching, new life and new love will be spreading across campus. Little chicks and ducks will be sold at farming supply stores, and new puppies and kittens will be born looking for new, loving homes.
Naturally, I see a puppy and immediately want to take it home and love it for the rest of my life. But eight months out of the year my home is a dorm room. That presents a huge problem for a puppy-lover like me because, as we all know, pets are not allowed in the dorm.
Harding does feel a lot like home, but one thing I have at home that I do not have here are my pets. Pets in the dorm could solve this pet homesickness many of us experience.
I can safely say that most of us are responsible, mature adults. We can wake ourselves up, go to class, do our homework and wash our clothes. Well, most of us can complete those tasks with some efficiency; others are not so fortunate. We fully rely on ourselves to survive college life. Of course, we can take care of a pet away from our parents.
Now, I am not saying let’s go out and get a goat, a snake or a flock of ducks, but a goldfish, turtle, bunny or maybe even a cat could easily live a happy, healthy life in a dorm room. I would go as far as to say let’s keep a puppy in a dorm room, but I know that puppies grow into dogs and dogs become less cute, need running space and consume more food. My paycheck would be gone before I even got it.
Yes, I know that pets find their ways into our dorm rooms from time to time, but why not make a dorm their permanent home? Of course, there would have to be rules and guidelines in place for the safety of both pets and students, but pet guidelines would keep the pets from getting too out-of-hand.
I know having a pet to come home to at the end of the day would make my days more enjoyable. They could probably decrease depression and the amount of stress campus-wide. Being able to keep pets in the dorm room is probably a long shot, but we can still hope that one day a goldfish named Goldie can find a way into a dorm room near you.
