| My roommate has four legs |
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September 24, 2008 "He really is my baby," says Durkoske, 20, of 6-year-old Vinny, her
family's bichon frise. Vinny has traveled with her to Mexico, Canada
and Italy and now shares her dorm room at Washington & Jefferson
College near Pittsburgh, where she is an international business,
Spanish and pre-law major. "When I graduate, he'll go with me to
wherever I get a job. That's just the way it is." Washington
& Jefferson two years ago joined what appears to be a growing
college-life trend -- pet-friendly dorm rooms offered to interested students. There are at least a dozen such colleges so far, and administrators and students alike declare the concept a hit. "The
pet owners really like it, of course, and those who don't have pets
like the interaction," says Mike Robilotto of Eckerd College in St.
Petersburg, Fla., which has allowed pets in a few dorm rooms for
decades and now has more than 40 pets in three residences. The pet
housing is full now, he says, "and the students are trying to push for
more." Factors contributing to a college's decision to establish
pet-friendly dorms: Many animal lovers have opted to live off-campus,
biting into colleges' housing income; and pet prohibitions haven't
always prevented pets being smuggled into dorms. But mostly, the new
policies seem to have emerged in response to a pet-loving society and
from recognition that animals can reduce stress and make acclimating to
college easier.
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