Housing and Residence Life released further details on the Animal Friendly Policy for the 2023-2024 academic school year.

HRL announced the Animal Friendly Policy during the Fall 2022 semester.

Since the announcement, HRL has provided further details on the application process and requirements for the pet policy.

HRL staff will assign students who have been approved to have an animal on campus. This will be based on the contract signature date. Students will be charged a $75 non-refundable cleaning fee per semester if they have a pet in the building with them.

Only one animal is permitted per bedroom in the designated buildings.

According to Housing and Residence Life, “For an animal to be eligible, animals that can be spayed or neutered must have documented proof of procedure prior to arrival to campus, animals must be vaccinated for rabies with documentation provided and cats and dogs must be a minimum of a year old and must be house trained.”

According to Housing and Residence Life, “Students interested in living in an Animal Friendly building must complete the application on the Housing Portal. Students with completed applications and required documentation will be notified by email that they are eligible to live in Animal Friendly Housing. Students with incomplete applications will not be eligible to live in Animal Friendly Housing. Approval for an animal is only valid for the academic year in which the documentation is submitted. Students must apply each year that they would like to live on campus with an animal.”

Amy Price, director of Housing and Residence Life, said the Animal Friendly Policy is different from the emotional support animal policy.

“Picture a dog that is 80 pounds,” Price said. “It’s really hard to share a bedroom with someone and have a dog that is 80 pounds. We allow that with emotional support because that is the law.”

The current list of approved animals for the policy includes:

• Non-predatory fish (tanks no larger than 20 gallons)
• Small, caged animal (rabbit, hamster, gerbil, chinchilla, guinea pig, rat, mouse, hedgehog)
• Cats
• Dogs under 50 pounds

The current list of animals not allowed for the policy includes:

• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• Ferrets
• Birds
• Dogs over 50 pounds
• Wildlife
• Poisonous or endangered species
• Snakes
• Farm, lab or production animals
• Animals that have to be fed a live animal for survival
• Pregnant animals —  should an animal become pregnant, the animal will not be permitted to stay on campus

Price said HRL followed the example of other schools when creating the Animal Friendly Policy.

“We’ve seen an increase of students wanting to bring their animal to campus, so we decided to try it,” Price said. “We followed closely at what other schools have done. Other schools have specific buildings that have animals, so we did that as well. Other schools don’t have specific animals allowed, like wild animals or pregnant animals allowed, so we did that as well.”

The Animal Friendly Policy currently lists two buildings as a part of the program. Branch is the designated building for freshmen, and Orr is the designated apartment for returning residents. Students can opt to buy out a bedroom side in an Animal Friendly building.

Isabel Greiner, junior photography major, said she thinks the policy is a wonderful idea. 

“I have a pet, and I haven’t been able to bring her in because of the current policies, but I would like to,” she said.

Greiner said some buildings should implement the policy, but not all of them.

“You have to account for the people who are allergic or don’t want to be around pets,” Greiner said.

Emma Lasher, junior marketing major, said she thinks the policy is a good idea but can see problems with it.

“Some people might not have their pets trained,” Lasher said. “If they are going to put the policy in place, they need to do more checks on rooms for damage and cleanliness, but I think it is a good idea to have animals.”

Students said the Animal Friendly Policy can help students.

 “I know a lot of people who are very alone, especially when they first get on campus, so I think an animal will definitely help with that,” Lasher said.

“I feel that there are a lot of students who feel isolated living here,” said Jaylyn Shake, junior marketing major. “I think it’ll be nice to bring your own pet if it’s something that will add to your mental health positivity.”

Price said she likes to talk to students before making changes.

“I want to know what students are thinking because I want students to live on campus,” Price said. “If there is something we can adjust, like the pet policy, which doesn’t cost us a lot of money, we will implement it. It’s high impact but low cost.”

Price said she wants to hear from students if they have other ideas for HRL. She said HRL has made other changes students have suggested.

“Gender-inclusive housing was another change we implemented from other schools,” Price said. “It started out as a pilot program, and then it expanded. That was an example of hearing from the community of students that want to do this, and it was another change that cost us nothing. So if others have ideas, I want to hear those.”

Students must complete a 2023-2024 housing contract to be eligible to apply. The Pet Application form is available on the Housing Portal