By REGAN THOMPSON

Transitioning into one’s first year of college means taking on a lot of responsibilities that they didn’t have before. For those students who are bringing pets with them to college, there is even more to consider—but overall, more joy.

One student who benefits from living with a pet on campus is Rayne Hoover’27. She lives in Maur with her dog, Casper, whom she rescued from a shelter in 2017. Casper is a service dog. “He specializes in deep pressure therapy and also psychiatric alerts. So he’ll alert me before I have a panic attack, and then he helps me during the panic attack… He can feel my heart rate. He can hear my heart rate too, like if it’s accelerating… [Casper] provides almost like a weighted blanket effect… he matches his heart rate to mine, and it slows my heart rate down,” Hoover explains the ways that Casper aids her while at school. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that having a service animal on campus can have its challenges.

While I was speaking with Hoover by the entrance to the Powerhouse, one of the students working the check-in desk approached us to inform her that dogs are not allowed in the building. Patiently, Hoover explains that Casper is an approved service dog with the Learning Enrichment and Disability Services. This is not the first time this has happened. “I get a lot of access issues here… there have been multiple times where I’ll just be trying to go get a package. And that five-minute trip turns into a 20-minute trip because I’m sitting there arguing with security, saying that it’s literally federal law.” Hoover believes the main reason why this happens is because of the lack of awareness surrounding the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s website, “Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services.” Hoover said of Beloit security, “If you’re working a job that involves serving the community, the public, you should know this aspect of it… [people with disabilities] have access to things that other people wouldn’t have access to.”

At the end of the day, Hoover is grateful to have Casper with her at Beloit. She thinks of him as more than just a pet, he’s her best friend. “When I get homesick, I have a buddy I can cuddle up with. He went through high school with me… and so having him go to college with me too is really special.”Another student at Beloit College who benefits from living with a pet on campus is Julia Weber’27, who lives in 609 Emerson with her kitten Coffee Bean. Similarly to Hoover, the main reason she sought to bring a pet with her to campus was for emotional support. “I got her for college,” Weber says of Coffee Bean, who is just under nine months old. For Weber, having a cat with her at Beloit College was a must. “I have severe mental health issues, depression, anxiety… so a lot of my mental health is… stabilized by a cat presence,” she explains. The way a first-year student navigates college is more complicated with the added responsibility of owning a pet. “Sometimes my free time is devoted to her… I mean, I feel like [transitioning into] college is all about having to find your time management [strategy], and having a pet is another life change too. So it’s kind of harder, but I feel like I’m mature enough to figure it out.” And Weber wouldn’t have it any other way: “I think my life would be a little bit boring [without Coffee Bean]. She adds color to my life when she jumps in laundry baskets and runs all over the place.”