I only had a cat in college- but I did have my yorkies throughout law school.
I think they were a great addition and helped me in school- I was not one to sit in the library all day- I preferred to study at home- so I was home a lot more than I am when working. During very stressful times it was nice to have them around and no that someone else needed my attention and I couldn't become all consumed by stress. They helped me to keep a good schedule because they needed to be fed in the morning and I couldn't just sleep all day. When I was really stressed and studying hard, I would make sure to take them for a walk every evening down by the water- this was a good way to force myself to get out and not go days without seeing the sun like some other people I knew.
Of course you sometimes have to be willing to make sacrifices for them- there were times where I had been at school for hours and then my friends wanted to go out and I had to decline because the dogs had already been gone long enough and needed to be fed and taken care of. My friends were very understanding of that and would sometimes change their plans and come hang out at my place instead so that I could see them and take care of the dogs.
You do need to have a contingency plan for health care expenses- Chloe cost me a couple thousand dollars in specialist fees to diagnose her health concerns in my second year and Armani broke a tooth the same year and had to have it removed which was close to a thousand with everything. So if I didn't have a way to pay for that- it would not have been fair to them or responsible pet ownership.
Many college students go home on breaks and they need to consider what they will do with their pets- my parents have a small zoo of their own and were always fine with me bringing any pets I had home with me if I was visiting them.
Basically I think College Students can make it work but they need to consider everything first and make sure that they are responsible enough to make it work no matter what. |