University of Northern Colorado’s Pet Friendly Dorms
The Denver Dog reports
It seems in this day and age more and more businesses are allowing pets into their establishment. Some college campuses are following suit by allowing students to have pets in their dorm rooms. One of these campuses is the University of Northern Colorado, located in Greeley, Colorado. Lawrenson Hall is the pet-friendly dorm on campus. You can visit http://www.unco.edu/housing/current/Pet_Friendly_Community.html to find out more about rules and restrictions about having pet’s in the dorm.
Rhyann Sims, a junior at the University of Northern Colorado, shared her personal experience of living in Lawrenson Hall with her dog, Kiba.
”Since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted a dog. There is something about their fluffy bodies happy face and cheerful demeanor that I was drawn to as a small child that made me long for a cute little puppy to call my own. So when I heard that a pet community was coming to Lawrenson Hall, I knew it was the right moment for me to finally have a dog.
Kiba is a two year old American Eskimo with a very loud personality. There isn’t a moment that I don’t hear a bark or growl or his little tags jingling when he runs. His favorite spot on campus seems to be the window in my room, where he can look out on Turner Green and bark at unsuspecting students. The biggest experience I’ve learned from this whole thing is that there is a huge time commitment attached to owning an animal. They depend on you to feed them and walk them and most importantly, to give them love. The Pet Friendly community helps me to learn these facts in a process, while I’m not stressed out about paying rent and dealing with classmates and a job and activities. Having the community in Lawrenson Hall allows students to use that as a stepping stone into becoming a fully independent adult. You can choose to have a meal plan or not, since each room has a kitchen to use for cooking, and the floor is very apartment style oriented, so being able to make a connection with Kiba without the hustle and bustle of a traditional residence hall is beneficial. Corey Friend, Lawrenson’s Hall director has also made this experience worthwhile for his small dog, Kirby Friend, has become a very encouraging and friendly part of the pet community as well.
The best part of having Kiba up here is how accepting he is of me. While he is a trouble maker and sometimes refuses to listen to me, he was there for me throughout the low part of this past semester and his cheerful smile and enthusiastic tail have helped me through some very tough times and hard decisions. Kiba is my rock and I depend on him just as much as he depends on me. He is a huge factor to why I can finish out this year and the next three semesters, because his want to see me when I didn’t want to see myself sometimes made many of the turmoil’s I faced seem trivial at times. There truly is something about being able to have an animal to call your own, for their huge stress relievers, and do whatever it takes to make sure you’re feeling better and that your happy. By having Kiba live with me, it also allowed me to continue the activities I do within housing and own a pet. This is a program I hope can be implemented on other campuses in the future, because I want others who were like me to experience the joy of owning and animal.”
