Tayler Bruce
In my first semester of college at Troy, I decided to get a dog.
I rescued a 9-month-old half Lab, half Weimaraner from the Ozark humane society.
I lived off campus in an apartment, but at the time, dogs were still allowed on campus.
Frequently, my roommate and I would take our dogs on a walk through campus or take them to the field in front of the Trojan Arena to run around freely under our surveillance.
While we were on a walk one day during the spring semester of 2014, we were stopped by one of the Troy University police officers, who notified us that dogs were no longer allowed on campus.
This upset not only us, but also many other students.
Allowing pets back on campus could benefit the campus, the pets and the pet owners. Both animals and humans need exercise on a daily basis.
With a lot of students living in apartments or houses with no backyards, it becomes difficult to let our animals get the daily exercise they need.
Many students, including myself, don’t like to walk their dogs off campus because of the lack of sidewalks in some areas that have heavier traffic.
This has caused many other pet owners to reduce the number of walks we go on.
By allowing pets back on campus, we can feel safe walking our pets on streets that have a sidewalk and slower traffic, which will increase the exercise of students and their pets.
It could also benefit the campus by increasing the amount of student
involvement in outside activities such as baseball games, tailgating on football game days and all of the activities that are hosted on the quad throughout the year.
Although I am arguing that pets should be allowed back on campus, I do believe that there should be rules and regulations.
Troy has made it a law that all dogs have to be on a leash if outside their homes.
This is one of the major things that would need to be followed by the people who would be bringing their pets on campus.
Another thing that would need to be addressed is picking up after your pet.
The University could install pet waste bag dispensers along with trash cans at different spots on campus. There do need to be regulations regarding where pets are and are not allowed.
I also think it would be a great idea to require pets to go through a screening to ensure the safety of other pets, and people such as what the SGA publicity committee chair Caitlin Smith, a junior political science major from Panama City, Florida, proposed in the Tropolitan article “Removing campus ban on pets proposed.”
We could attach a tag issued by the university on a pet’s collar along with the rabies tag that is issued every year with shots.
In conclusion, I, along with many other Troy University students, believe that it would be a great decision to lift the ban of pets on campus.
Not only could it benefit many things, including the university, but it could also make it easier and safer for students and their pets to enjoy the outdoors.
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