A miniscule, multicolored fish may not compare to man’s energetic, fun-loving best friend, but for biology freshman Lauren Sarrazin, it will have to do.
A friend’s fish is the closest she can get to replacing her chocolate lab, Lady, who Sarrazin had to leave behind when coming to college.
Sarrazin, a Lafayette native and one of many University students who deals with leaving a pet behind while attending college, said she misses Lady now that she’s at LSU and her friend’s fish can’t take the place of her furry companion.
“It was sad [leaving Lady behind],” Sarrazin said. “I just try to visit her as much as possible.”
Coping with leaving pets behind can often be a harrowing experience for students.
Stephanie Johnson, a counselor and instructor at the LSU Vet School, works with the school’s “Best Friend Gone Project,” a program designed to cope with the loss of a pet. She said pet separation in college can be difficult because pets are a constant and reliable source of affection for students.
“We all get attached to our pets because they’re that one constant,” Johnson said. “They could be the one thing to bring from home that is a reminder.”
Pets are great stress relievers that show their owners unconditional love, and pet owners typically have lower blood pressure and heart rates, according to Johnson.
Johnson suggested some strategies for students who miss their pet that include keeping pictures or videos of their pets, volunteering at an animal shelter or being around friends who have pets.
Johnson counsels students who are grieving pet loss or having separation issues. She recommended Companion Animal Alliance, CAAWS and Yelp! as organizations where students can volunteer to deal with missing their animal.
Johnson said the University should be more pet friendly like other institutions around the country, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which offers cat-friendly dorms, and the University of Notre Dame, which allows students to have fish aquariums.
Pets can also help students when they enter an unfamiliar environment like college, Johnson said.
Contrary to the idea that pets would make students less socially accessible because of added responsibilities, Johnson said pets are a great way to initiate social interaction. Owners constantly need to bring their pets outside for a walk, and animals are a great conversation starter.
For some students, pets influence their decisions about where to live.
Graphic design sophomore Allison Ballard said she still lives at home in Baton Rouge and attributed part of her decision to stay there to her dog.
“Whenever I’m stressed out, I go outside and run with my dog, and it relieves my stress,” Ballard said.
Political science senior Scott Morvant said he chose to live in an apartment off campus so he could bring his dog with him.
Mass communication senior Emilee Margiotta, who is from Slidell, said separating from her pet was difficult.
“Before I came here, I went to the University of Tampa, which was like nine hours away,” Margiotta said. “That was really difficult.”
She said she would go to pet stores or the homes of friends who had pets in order to cope with separation from her dog. Since moving back to Louisiana, she has gotten her own dog, but she still misses her pets back home.
“It’s a lot easier [now] because I can just go home on the weekends,” Margiotta said.
But not all students think time away from their pets is a bad thing.
Kinesiology freshman and Baton Rouge resident Haley Duke said she likes no longer having responsibility for her dogs.
“I like it better because I don’t have to take care of them, and I can just see them whenever I want,” Duke said.
 
 
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Contact Kevin Thibodeaux at [email protected]