Leaving your beloved dog at home can be heartbreaking, especially as he stares up at you with those sad, watery puppy eyes when you walk out the front door to travel to a school campus far away from home. This seems especially unfair, given that while some schools have recently converted to begin allowing students to bring their animal companions, most others are still sticking to their strict "no pets" policy. But the schools that deny students the privilege to bring their animals to live with them in the residence halls have valid reasons for this prohibition.
Animals undeniably can bring their owners a sense of comfort and joy, but they can also bring allergy-unfriendly fur and dander onto the campus. Some student are highly allergic to furry and feathered animals, and exposure to such animals can make allergic students react with light seasonal allergy-type symptoms such as sneezing or coughing, to severe symptoms like asphyxiation. Obviously, the health and well-being of a school’s student population is more important than allowing a few select students to bring their pets to school. The main concern with allowing pets is that it will make the learning environment too uncomfortable for those who are allergic.
However, you do not have to be allergic to animals to understand another reason why schools have banned on-campus pets: property damage. Pets, whether they are small or large, can cause property damage that the school must then pay to have repaired. Small animals such as hamsters and rabbits can chew on dorm furniture, cats can shred carpeting, dogs can scratch up the walls, and all animals can accidentally soil the residence’s carpeting and furniture. Even marine animals can cause damage should their tanks accidentally break or spill. In addition, some pets, such as dogs and birds, can be noisy neighbors, disrupting the studies and rest of other students in the residence hall.
Another situation that colleges try to avoid by banning pets is incidents of animal cruelty and neglect. Unfortunately, some students do not know how to balance their academics and social life while caring for a pet, so some animals end up not receiving the proper care and attention they need. Pets may be abandoned after the school year ends or during holiday breaks, as students leave them to fend for themselves or to die. Keeping up with all of the animals to ensure that they are all receiving good care is near impossible. This reason, as well as the potential property damage, noise disturbances, and allergy reactions is why most colleges these days continue to not allow residence hall animals.
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