Former Eckerd College student Kerry O’Gorman lived in a dorm with her dog, Shadow, during her sophomore and junior years at the school. During their sophomore and junior years, Amanda Sherwood and Molly Giduz had a third roommate in the form of Giduz’ cat, Chanel. Eckerd College in nearby St Petersburg has one of the most unique and innovative college housing programs in the country: they allow students to live with their pets, on campus, in the dorm rooms.

Eckerd not only allows students to bring cats and dogs to campus, but also some more unusual animals. According to their website, Eckerd also allows students to bring rabbits, ducks, and ferrets with them to campus. Eckerd requires students who wish to bring pets to campus to have lived on-campus for at least one semester. Also, not every student who lives on campus is allowed to have a pet. A student with a pet must be living in a dorm that has been designated a “pet dorm” for the academic year and this year students have a choice of four different buildings.
The Eckerd website champions their pet program as one of the oldest in the nation and claims that other schools have created programs similar in nature to their own. While a few other schools across the country allow pets on campus, none appear to have a program as extensive as Eckerd’s. Case Western Reserve University in Ohio allows students to have small-caged pets such as hamsters, but not dogs or cats. The University of Illinois allows upper-level students to have pets, including cats and dogs, in one of their apartment complexes.

All-girls Stephens College in Missouri has allowed pets on campus since 2004. Stephens has an innovative program not offered by Eckerd or the other schools mentioned. The school has partnered with a local animal rescue group to allow students to adopt pets that are in need of a home. This socially conscious program could be a great idea for other schools with pet dorms or schools hoping to create pet dorm programs.

If Eckerd and other schools have had success with incorporating pet dorms, why have more schools such as the University of Tampa not tried to create similar programs? “I'm almost positive people with pets would be happier emotionally,” UT student and RA Greg Hamel said. Sherwood has since transferred out of Eckerd but said she would love to see her new school, the University of Vermont, allow pets on campus.

Yisenia Abrahantes, a junior, has three dogs, and her parents have peacocks, but she doesn’t like the idea of pets on the UT campus. “I think it would hurt them (students) because they would have to focus a lot of time taking care of their pets,” said Abrahantes. Abrahantes is also concerned about the amount of “green space” on campus and doesn’t think there is enough outdoor space for animals. Unlike Eckerd, UT is an urban campus and has limited room for pets to roam.

Hamel expresses similar concerns to Abrahantes and wonders if there is enough space for pets on the urban campus. Hamel also expressed concerns regarding students taking proper care of their pets and the pets being controlled. “Imagine a bunch of dogs barking at all hours of the night,” Hamel said, expressing what he sees as one of the issues with allowing pets on campus.

While some UT students may have reservations about how residence life would control pets on campus, Eckerd has devised a committee of students to deal with problems that arise from the pet program. The student-run pet committee at Eckerd is dedicated to reviewing the pet policy, enforcing rules and regulations, and discussing any issues that may arise from having pets on campus. A similar system would no doubt have to be created if pets were to be allowed on the UT campus.

Allowing students to bring pets to the dorms could bring new life and energy to the UT campus. However, there are also many issues that need to be taken into consideration. UT’s urban campus may not be the most pet-friendly campus. The type of pets allowed on campus, which dorms to allow them in, and ensuring pets are well taken care of without consuming too much of students’ time are all issues that would need to be taken into consideration. If students expressed enough interest in such an initiative, perhaps a student movement could be created and the issue investigated and discussed with residence life staff.

Despite his reservations, Hamel said he would throw his support towards any efforts to create a pet program at UT and feels many of his friends and residents would back any efforts. Sherwood said that while pets may not be for everyone she thinks many students would benefit from having pets around. “I loved having the energy of dogs and cats running around. It always put me in a good mood if I was having a bad day,” Sherwood said of her time at the Eckerd Pet dorms.