Photo by Michelle Ruth
By: Michelle Ruth
Have you ever walked by a pet store and wanted the adorable puppy in the window, but knew you couldn’t get it? Well, some students are getting pets anyway, despite the responsibility and potential housing risks that come with their new best friend.
Most college campuses, including the University of Maryland, prohibit students from having pets in campus residence halls.
Living off-campus is one way to get around this rule for students who decide they can’t live without a furry little friend.
Dash, a Dachshund-Yorkie mix, lives with Mebaa Braha, a senior public relations major, and his seven roommates. Braha saved the dog from a shelter this summer.
Braha says balancing school and taking care of the dog can be tough, but his roommates help make caring for Dash manageable. “His schedule is not as consistent as it should be, but he’s taken care of well and is loved,” Braha says.
Photo by Michelle Ruth
Also feeling the love is a Black Labrador Retriever-German Shepherd mix that lives in a Harvard Road house of five guys who decided to get the dog at the beginning of the semester simply because they love dogs.
“It’s always great to have something to come home to, not to mention girls love dogs,” says Curt Grifo, a junior finance and supply chain management double major who lives in the house.
And off-campus students aren’t the only ones giving into their pet urges. Even with the on-campus “no pets” rule, some students are doing whatever they need to in order to get their puppy fix.
J.S.*, a sophomore biology major living in an on-campus apartment, is risking her housing in order to keep her Maltese-Pomeranian puppy mix in her apartment. To get rid of the homesickness she felt her freshman year and to have something to call her own, she adopted Bentley from a woman living in the area.
She says that after a week of having Bentley, she found it to be an easy transition from just having to take care of herself to taking care of a puppy too. “I’m lucky to have five great roommates who help take care of Bentley when I’m in class and who are begging to babysit him the nights that I go out.”
*J.S. asked that her name not be used, since having pets while in on-campus housing is prohibited.
