Much of a college student’s life is on the go. Days are filled with classes, studying, meals, practices, activities and more. When students finally get a chance to sit down, relax and chat, a common way to get to know one another is by talking about what home life is like. When many students get the chance to visit home, it is nice to see their family, but another thing that students are often excited to see are their pets. Many students have dogs, cats, fish, reptiles and many other types of pets. There are only small breaks when they can go home and see their animal friends. There is a new way to have some pet cuddles at college, and that is through the Resident Directors. There are a few pets on campus that have been around for a while, and some that are new to the campus.
Two of the newest additions to the NW community are the puppies in both Christy Suites and Stegenga Hall. The Resident Director of Christy Suites, Abigail Noonan, is the new owner to LJ, short for Little John, a female mini golden doodle. Noonan has now had LJ for two weeks, and she has seen the positive impact on campus she has had. Often students would like to have a break and mental reset from their work, and getting the chance to cuddle and play with a campus dog such as LJ is beneficial. Noonan enjoys living with LJ, even in the middle of training her in certain areas.
As for Stegenga Hall, Resident Director Audrey Punt now owns a female whoodle, a wheaten and poodle mix, named Daisy. Like LJ, Daisy also came to campus about two weeks ago and has also had a positive impact on the women living in Stegenga Hall and the NW community.
When both Noonan and Punt were asked what they thought about campus pets in general, they both agreed that it is a joy-filled idea. “Campus pets are also great connectors, connecting people that may not otherwise run into each other but do because they stop to say hi to a dog at the same time.” said Noonan. Everyone in the community is supporting each other and having a dorm dog lifts students’ spirits when they are busy with school.
The women’s dorms are not the only ones with pets. In Fern Smith Hall, RD Brian Follett also has a dog named Ozzy, who has been with his family since 2021. Ozzy is a Cavachon from Doon, IA. Follett adopted Ozzy as a 10 week old puppy, shortly before moving to NW to work as an RD.
“I love that Ozzy gets to live on campus.” said Follet “He brings a fun dynamic to the dorm where guys get to interact with him”
Ella Erickson, a student living in Stegenga Hall, agrees with the positive view of having dogs on campus. Even though she has not had as many interactions with the dogs, she has seen that students love having pets around that they can love on.
“Dogs, especially small, adorable dogs, just seem to make people happy when they walk into a room wagging their tails, and these RD dogs are no exception.” said Erickson
In retrospect, having pets on campus brings joy to NW students and staff. They allow students to take a break and play with a pet that is simply around to have a fun time.
