college and leaving pets behind

[dancer]

Hello everyone,

so, I have a dog, a seven-year-old bichon frise, who is essentially my child. Really. Ever since my family first got her, she's always been "my" dog. I'm the person she's bonded the most with, she really does seem to always know how I'm feeling, and she typically follows me around everywhere. However, in September I'll be going to college out of state, and students living on campus (which freshman have to do) aren't allowed to have pets besides fish or another animal that can live in a 20 gallon container, which I don't think my dog would be happy doing. I know that people go away to college and leave their pets "all the time," but I'm still really worried about doing that with my dog - for her sake, mostly, and some for mine. I guess, any advice/suggestions/encouragement in the way of "hey, this is how this has worked out before" type of stories would be really appreciated.

[TakeTheLeap]

Hey!
I've got 4 cats and 3 dogs that I have to leave behind when I go off to school. I'm getting ready to go into my 3rd year.
It really isn't that bad to leave your pets behind - you still have other people home to take care of them. And you can certainly be guaranteed a happy greeting every time you come home!
One of my cats mopes around a bit when I first leave, but he gets used to it. When I get home, one of my other cats will run away from me for about 5 minutes, and then will come sit on my lap and snuggle for a while. While I'm gone, I call my mom every night, and she usually puts her phone on speaker and I'll talk to the cats. It's kinda funny, actually. Apparently, they bob their heads up and down and search all around the room for me. One actually sniffs and licks at the phone.
But it'll work out. Despite what people may tell you, if you're already close to your animals, they won't forget you, and they won't hate you for leaving them. If she's a good dog, she will jump for joy when you walk in and give you nothing but love.

Trust me, it'll work out just fine!
Good luck,
Emily

[Grizabella]

I had to leave my cat and dog behind with my mother, and it was hard. What's good is that your dog is already used to your family, so at least you're leaving her in a familiar setting. My dog is still very loyal to me when I do come back, but while I'm gone, she's very comfortable and doing just fine with my mother. Maybe you could consider living in residence for one or two years, and then trying to get your own apartment that allows you to have your dog?

[*Jen*]

I know what you mean. I have a horse and when I went to uni last year it was hard leaving her. She is on loan at the moment but I still miss her lots and lots. But I know that when I go home I can see her :-) Your pets will always still be there when you go home during the holidays and then you can spend lots of time with them.

[Jennifer]

aww thats gonna be tough. my crazy cousin think's she can take her 5 month old husky/german shep to school with her. But i know it's going to be tough but sometimes you need to do stuff like this

[Spontaneous Smile]

I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this either. My Dachshund is 9 and I graduate in 2011. He is my dog and he knows it. He loves me a lot and I'd hate to leave him behind to be confused and sad. But if I lived off campus or something and I took him with me, he'd probably just go into shock from the sudden environement change.

So I don't know how it'll work out. But when the holidays come around, you can always visit her and snuggle her till she pops. So that she knows you still love her.

[Dasha]

You can always have your family doing the walking,(properly walked in heel position) feeding,(if she is fed a few times a day and food not left out for her) and sleeping not in your room(if she does) mostly now so she can get used to the rest of the family taking care of her, and she can start to deal with letting you go, instead of a big jump. That way it's easier on the both of ye.