[momtolabs]

What did you do with your dogs? Did you take them with you or leave them with your parents? If you didn't have dogs what about your other animals?

I am hoping that when I finish high school(I got this year then two more years) I can get into college. i plain on staying with my parents for at-least a year till I can find a nice apartment, that is affordable, in a good neighborhood and allows pets. I feel bad about it but i think I am going to leave Tank with my parents. He will not be a good apartment dog and with his health already failing him(at only seven) it would be better. I am taking Bentley with me and my cat for sure. I am leaving the ferret with my parents. The job I want while going to college, you can take you your dog with you. I am already looking at doggy day cares,haha. My cat is independent so i am not worried about him. some people think I am crazy but, a lot of people(young adults) have pets while in college and I think I can do it. That is another reason I am staying with my parents for a year before moving out after high school. I want to know my schedule and get into a routine.

 

[melundie]

I got a cat my freshman year of college when I came home for Thanksgiving break. I brought him to school with me for a weekend (against the rules), but took him home and left him with my parents while I was away. I bought a house when I graduated and brought him with. Then I added our two newest additions.

 

[Laurelin]

I left my dog at home. She was old, had CHF, was set in her ways and was over our apartment's weight limit. My junior year I ended up buying another dog, which is Summer. Nikki, my first dog passed a few months after that. I got Mia during college too.

 

[HollowHeaven]

I chose not to go away for college because I have 2 cats, 3 dogs, 3 rats and a fish. They have been there for me more than any human ever has and I don't have the option to leave them at home. It would be not go away for college or rehome them all.
There's a community college here, but currently not attending for various reasons. When I do go, it will be there because I will not leave my animals behind.

 

[KodiBarracuda]

I'm leaving for college in two weeks. I am leaving all three dogs.
Roonie is my mothers dog, and even though we are attached and it will be hard for him to adjust his night routine because he always sleeps in my room it is best for him.
Lady is 8 or 9 and has a spinal injury and is flourishing out here, and she would be over any weight limit if I can find an apartment my second semester or sophomore year.
Kodi is also too heavy and attached to my mother.

I do plan on getting an apartment or renting something my sophomore year and that summer getting a small dog (right now I'm strongly looking into an AKK.). I have the next 11 years scheduled for college because I'm in a program that guarantees me a spot in UNMC (medical school) after my 4 years undergrad and pays my tuition for my 4 undergrad years (which for me means I can save the money I would put towards that towards my medical school funds. I'm not willing to put my dog life on hold for that long. My parents are on board with the plan so if something happens/worse comes to worse/sh*t hits the fan/I die/etc my parents don't want another dog but they will help me out.

 

[kafkabeetle]

Both of the family dogs stayed home when I went to college, but my junior year I moved into an apartment and took Sydney with me. It was never really any problem for me having a dog in college and I graduated in December.

 

[georgiapeach]

I left the dogs at home when I went to college - they were really bonded more with my mom anyway. My junior year, I took a horse to school, but found I didn't really have enough time to do him justice, so I donated him to the Univ. of TN my senior year (better tax advantage for my Dad than trying to sell him at the time). He ended up being on the Univ. of TN equestrian team! I didn't really get a dog that was totally my own until I got married at age 24. I had a cat once I graduated and had my own apartment - they're much more independent and easier to take care of when you're super busy.

 

[Avie]

I'm attending uni right now, going into the second year, but still live at home where my dog is as well. But when I move out three years from now, I'm not sure whether I'll take Mike with me. He's more my sister's dog than he is mine. Either my sister will take him with her, or I take him. He won't stay at my father's house, because he's away from 7 AM 'till at least 5 PM and that's too long to leave a dog alone. But I can't look into the future; only time will tell what'll happen.
Right now, both my sister and I attend uni, but we do different studies and our schedules are different, so there's almost always somebody home.

 

[ladyshadowhollyjc]

When I first left home, I took my two papillons and my cat with me. My Aussie stayed at home. I thought it would be better for her because she can be kind of strange with a lot of change. Also, our apartment was small so a third 50lb dog wouldn't have been the best arrangement. Eventually, we added a 3rd smaller dog while we were living in the apartment. Last fall we found decent size rental home with a yard and Shadow (my Aussie) came to live with us.

I didn't move out to go to college, but the arrangement would have been the same of I had (I originally wanted to go back to school when we moves, but I haven't gone back yet).

 

[mcdavis]

Our toy poodle was 15 when I headed off to college and there was no question of him coming with me as he was the family dog - he adored my Dad and my Mum was home all day, plus pets weren't allowed in the halls of residence. When I started work I was travelling quite a bit and there was never a good time to get a dog, so I got Hamish for my Dad when he retired, then he came to live with us after we lost my parents.

 

[Willowy]

Penny showed up at a bad time--I had just started a new job and was in training, lots of hours. So my mom did a lot of the puppy work (sorry mom!). But when I got my own house I did take her with me, and 3 of the 6 cats (but one went back a few weeks later because she insisted on going outside and it didn't work in my neighborhood). I also left Willow with them, because she had become my dad's dog by that point. But I only moved a half-hour away so it's not like we never saw each other.

 

[CrimsonAccent]

Just curious: to everyone that took their dogs/cats/other pets, was it freshman year? And if so, where did you stay? I plan on going to UNT (North Texas) next year, and freshman are required to stay on campus. I know you can get exemptions, like commute from home, work it out with the univerisity, etc but that won't be an option for me (five hours from home). I'm not asking because I plan on having a dog then, just more curious than anything else. If (when) I move in with my boyfriend (assuming things keep going strong) is probably when I'd get my dog. Or just when I'm in an apartment regardless, but splitting expenses would be nice.

My cousin got a dog her junior year at UT but she had an apartment by then.

When my boyfriend moves out, his dog, Angus, is coming with him for sure. That dog mopes and mopes when he leaves. When my boyfriend stayed this summer down in my town with family, Angus apparently kept laying in his bed and looking for him. He was just off. Gus isn't a stand offish dog or anything, but you can tell who his person is, for sure!

 

[elrohwen]

Our dogs stayed with my parents. They were family dogs, not just "mine", and taking them to college would've been so inconvenient anyway (no dorms and virtually no apartments allowed dogs). They were old too and one died soon after I left, the other when I was a junior or senior so it wouldn't have been fair to take them.

I got a pair of gerbils the summer before my junior year and I loved having them to keep me company. I grew up having gerbils, so it seemed an obvious choice to get a couple more. The apartment technically didn't allow pets, but my landlord didn't know or didn't care that they were in my room since they were obviously in a cage.

I could've taken care of a dog in college, but when I graduated I ended up traveling 50-70% of the time for work (they had promised no more than 20% and I wasn't looking for a job with travel) and it would've been a disaster. Because of that, I've waited 6 more years to get a dog. Definitely keep in mind that having a dog in college might not be hard, but it can limit your job possibilities afterwards, depending on what you'd like to do.

 

[Adrenkid]

I'm entering tenth grade now. When I move out, I will be taking my dog Scout with me. Pippy will stay with my parents; he is most attached to my mom. The cat will also stay with Mom and Dad. Before getting a second dog, I thought long and hard about what would happen to him after I graduated from high school. If I wasn't sure that I would be able to take care of Scout, I would not have adopted him. If, for some reason, things don't work out, I do know a family that would watch Scout for a few years. (Mom and Dad can't wait to get rid of him.)

 

[Kayota]

I brought my dog. I looked until I found a rental I could have her in. She is the most important thing in my life and I was not willing to move until I could take her with me.

 

[lauren17]

My school requires freshman and sophomores to live in the dorms so I wasn't able to have pets my first two years (other than my fish). So all my animals stayed with my parents for those years. I went home almost every weekend then though. I got an apartment my junior year so I could bring my dog. I then added a cat shortly after moving in but he wasn't one from home. The rest of my pets stayed with my parents, they were mostly more family pets than mine specifically and there was no way I could find an apartment that would allow three dogs, two cats, three chinchillas, and four sugar gliders lol

 

[Kayota]

Yeah I'm lucky, I added a mouse and rats and three fish tanks within a year of moving out and I'm considering a tarantula too now.

 

[Rocky911]

no, i left the family dog at home and waited until I was off campus and could get my own dog (this took 5 years, it was a long five years)

 

[MissGen]

My dog is going to live with my father when I leave at the end of the month. The situation doesn't really thrill me, but she has a big yard and a lot of trails to walk on at his place, and when I come down to visit I'll take her over to my mother's place until I leave.