Something to consider before adopting to college students ......
College students often abandon pets
Saturday, June 12, 2004
By Jennifer C. Yates, The Associated Press
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04164/330956.stm
When students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania went home for the
summer, many of them left something behind: their pets.
Officials at animal shelters in Indiana and several other college
towns say they have seen an increase in stray cats and dogs since the
school year ended.
"It happens every summer," said Jill Carnahan, of the Indiana County
Humane Society. There are about 200 cats and 48 dogs currently at the
nonprofit shelter, double the normal number, and many are brought in
by students or landlords who find them.
Nancy Peterson, an issues specialist with the Washington-based Humane
Society of the United States, said college students' abandoning pets
is a perennial problem.
"It's hard for a young college student to think 10, 15, 20 years into
the future. But many of our cats and dogs are living that long and
where you'll be in that time is so uncertain," Peterson said.
Most colleges don't allow students to have pets in dorm rooms, and
many humane societies won't allow students to adopt animals.
"Most colleges don't allow pets because they know the student's life
is filled with many distractions and responsibilities that would make
it difficult to be a responsible pet owner," Peterson said. "That's
during the school year, so what happens when the school year ends?"
At Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a state school, pets are not
allowed in residence halls. About 4,000 of the school's 13,500
students live in dorms, though, leaving many more in off-campus
housing where the rules on pets vary.
Carnahan said often students can't afford to have their pets spayed
or neutered, and the shelter ends up finding hungry or sick animals
left behind. Providing medical care for the stray animals at the
shelter can be expensive and taxing on the paid and volunteer staff,
she said.
Currently, the shelter is offering a "Two Fur One" promotion for
anyone who will take two cats or kittens. In many cases, though, the
animals will have to be euthanized.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04164/330956.stm
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Jun 13, 2004