obscure2k

University of Santa Barbara is regarded as a very pet friendly environment. I suspect that this applies to other UC Schools. When our youngest son attended UCSB he had a pug puppy whom he drove around the campus on his bike. The Pup happily spent time in our son's classes and lived with him in a pet-friendly dorm. I am convinced that the puppy helped ease the transition from home to college. Fortunately, it was only a 90 minute drive home. Kid could visit the folks; puppy could visit a littermate and his parents. Win-Win^^

essxjay

Though not a campus with much traditional style "dorm" housing, Portland (Ore.) State University owns ~10 buildings on or just-off campus, over half of which allow pets in studios, 1- and 2-bedroom apartments. (All other buildings allow exceptions for service and therapy animals.) As for taking Fido or Fifi to class ... now that's something I've yet to see.


Good to know about UCSB's policy, and great idea for a thread.

sshsearching

Stephens College, a women-only private school in Columbia, Missouri, allows pets on certain floors of two of its dormitories.

lalala

When TH was in her Ph D. program her adviser's dog was officially part of the program, she had id, a special jacket she wore and basically spent her time in classes, seminars and in the lab with her adviser. She was the departmental mascot.

A few other dogs also come into the admin office, which is nice.

One of TH's colleagues is getting a Ph D. along with his master. I had the great pleasure of meeting Dutton and I fell in love.

I don't think the UW has any of these pet friendly dorms, but I love the idea. I know that I would not have had time to take care of the dog, but I would have loved to borrow someone's dog for a walk or a cuddle when I was having a bad day.

emla714

I'm attending Stephens in the fall and they now have opened an entire dorm for students and their pets along with a doggy play yard and doggie daycare

CDTraveler

At the risk of being flamed, I have to say I don't think pets belong in dorms or office school buildings for many reasons, which include:

1. dogs and cats are both major allergens. allowing pets into dorms will cause asthmatic students to unnecessarily suffer, and if a student with an allergy has to ask a teacher to remove a "mascot" from the classroom, that student will be on receiving end of reactions ranging from teasing to nasty harassment (we know this firsthand - my son has a severe allergy to dogs)

2. animal waste - seen too many piles of dog poop on college campuses to believe that every student makes a responsible pet owner.

3. puts the animals in a very vulnerable position: the phrase "frat boy" comes to mind. when I was in college, one frat was was sanctioned for setting another frat's "mascot" on fire. The dog had to be put down due to severe burns, and yes, there was a whole lot of beer involved.

4. colleges are in the business of education, and considering how many of them are struggling financially, I don't want education $$$ spent on pets. yes, a similar argument is used against pets in lodging/transportation, but it is not a true parallel. There is only one Harvard, but Boston has many hotels.

If you or your college student believe they need a pet, it should be in off-campus housing, and definitely not in the classroom.

MSPeconomist

Cornell University is traditionally dog-friendly. Legend is that a big bequest had the condition that dogs be forever allowed to run free on campus. The reality is not that extreme: dogs are forbidden in dining halls and certain lab facilities.

In discussing this topic, one should distinguish between official college policies and what is informally accepted or tolerated. In some schools, a quiet cat is unlikely to cause much fuss in the dorms if the roommate doesn't object and the cat is well cared for. Similarly, taking dogs to class or to faculty offices commonly happens on many campuses, including Berkeley, Rochester, CalTech, Iowa, and Florida, for example, in addition to Cornell.

mlshanks

I'm calling B.S. on this one. I'm a UCSB grad alumni, and can tell you for a fact that pets are *not* allowed in the dorms nor in any campus buildings. (...although doubtless tenured faculty could get away w/ it in their offices...) Dogs are only allowed on campus *on leash* and *outdoors.*

The only way that someone lived in a dorm w/ a dog or brought a puppy to class was by smuggling it in... Because it violates a number of campus rules.