My daughter would be thrilled to find that her roommate comes with a therapy cat or dog, and thereby she would share in the animal’s company. Does anyone have experience intentionally choosing to have a roommate who comes with their animal? I know some cant live with an animal because of allergies, but all her Christmases would come at once if her roommate came with a lovely cat or dog.
Is this a silly thing to request considering the person’s personality (and what may cause them to need the animal) is certainly more important than their having a cat or dog? Also, if she indicates her preference to room with someone and their support animal, might it be a lizard or snake?
I would think a support animal would NOT be like having a “pet” in the dorm. My D is in class with someone with a therapy dog and she is not allowed to interact with the dog. It just comes in, lays down, and does its job.
I would not request this at all. You would have no idea what the person may need the dog for. What if they are diabetic? Your child may then be living with someone who wakes up to check blood sugar and/or have a snack. It seems like an odd request to me.
There’s a difference between assistance animals which are trained to perform specific tasks and aren’t supposed to be interacted with when they’re working, and emotional support animals, which are really just pets for people who have a need for them. Some schools have low thresholds for the latter. Eckerd allows students to bring pets without requiring they be assistance or support animals. They even have a “graduation” for pets. https://www.eckerd.edu/housing/pet-life/
My son’s freshman roommate questionnaire asked if he would want to live in a room with a support/service animal. I would think she could register her enthusiasm for this through that process.
I also agree that she could not choose the animal nor the person who came with it.
I love animals and so does my daughter. She would love a pet in her room. Her school brought in therapy dogs for several days over finals and my daughter stopped what she was doing every day to visit with them. We hear often about dogs she sees around campus and she loves that some of the adults associated with her residential college have dogs she can interact with. However, as the parent of a current freshman I would be much more concerned about finding a roommate who is a good fit personality wise. They spend a lot of time together in a small space. Finding a roommate who is considerate and who hopefully has the same ideas regarding how the room space will be used (studying, relaxing, sleeping, partying, visiting with others, etc.) would be at the top of my daughter’s priority list.
If that’s what your DD wants, that’s fine to make that request. The very few students I knew with support animals got singles. They did not want interaction by others with the dog. But these were trained dogs for specific support. There has been a sharp increase in emotional support dogs who are not as strictly treated.
My friend’s daughter requested a pet-friendly room and both she and her roommate will be bringing pets at the start of the second semester. The school allowed them to specify what kinds of pets they would and would not accept.
The problems I’ve seem when kids have an animal are:
-More than one pet and the animals don’t get along.
-Animals that aren’t properly trained, particularly housebroken.
-A pet owner who doesn’t take good care of their animal. It can fall on the roommate to make sure the pet gets out to relieve itself or that the cage gets cleaned. Pet issues can also become money issues if the owner doesn’t have enough cash to properly care for their pet. In the below link a student was dealing with ineffectively treated fleas after their roommate adopted a cat.