Jenna wrote:
>No matter how I approach the subject or how I argue my case, this is the
>response I receive from the people at the college I'll be going to.  What
>do they expect a person to do if they happen to *have* pets *already* and
>are NOT willing to abandon them as though they were lifeless, worthless
>possessions?!?!?  I don't know how to deal with this.  I'm so exasperated.
 
Jenna, I know how you feel...I had to leave my babies at home last year
because of my university's no-pets policy.  It puzzles me too...school is
stressful enough, without the added stress of leaving a beloved pet behind.
Plus, pets are proven to be a good stress-reliever, so I'd think colleges
would be more open to allowing their students a possible source of stress
relief.  Unfortunately, if you're in a dorm, there's not much you can do,
thanks to the crowded condition.  It's kind of hard to hide a pet in such a
tiny room, unless you have something like a mouse or a hermit crab that
could live in a cage/container small enough to hide in case someone from
the university came into your room.
 
However...university-owned apartment housing can sometimes be a different
matter.  Even though there might be a no-pets policy in place, it might
not always be as strictly enforced as in a dorm.  Case in point: this year
I'm living at a university-owned apartment complex.  Officially, we're not
supposed to have pets, even goldfish.  Unofficially, however, it's a
different story.  A -lot- of people in these buildings have pets, including
the manager of the complex.  Some people are even pretty open about having
them, although personally I don't tempt fate...I make sure any of my ferret
supplies are either hidden in bags or I wait until after dark to shop so no
one sees me bring them in.  If I want/need to take the ferrets out, I empty
out my bookbag and put them in it to get them outside, and I keep their pet
carrier out in the car, covered by a blanket.  I also have a friend lined
up in case of an emergency, so say if something breaks in the apartment and
I have to call maintenance, I'll put the call off long enough to get the
ferrets to my friend's house until everything's fixed.  Also, my friend has
agreed to claim that the ferrets are hers, so that if I -am- caught with
them in the apartment, I can say I'm keeping them for a friend whose
apartment is being fumigated.
 
It might be a good idea for you to try to get in touch with someone who is
already staying in the place where you'll be living and ask whether anyone
keeps pets in the building, and if so, what kind, and how they manage to
keep them out of sight.  Good luck!
 
Dooks,
Lisa
Mom of Zorro, Claudia, Loki, Fezzik, and Crysin
@}-}-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --{-{@
 
"A lost cause beats a sure thing
even when the deck's been stacked."
                 --Kevn Kinney
[Posted in FML issue 2669]