By Aimee McElreath, Staff Writer
Have you ever wanted to live with your pet on campus? Saint Leo University has a new policy in place where students can bring their pet to live with them on campus!
Director of Residential Experience and Community Standards, Kimesha Norris, explained what students can expect about this new policy.
“Any student can bring a cat or dog on campus, and they will be placed in a single room in Snyder,” said Norris.
The policy extends to one cat or dog per student, and students must live with their pet in Snyder Hall.
The policy includes a $500 pet deposit fee, along with a pet registration fee of $1,000. This is not included in the $5,490 per semester a student pays for housing in Snyder Hall. If the pet has not damaged the space it resides in, students receive $250 back from the deposit at the end of the school year.
The policy also includes some requirements regarding the pets.
“You can only bring one animal, so if you had a cat and a dog, you got to choose which one you want to bring, just because of the spacing of the room,” said Norris, “It just wouldn’t fit for two pets to be in that space.”
Another qualification is for the pets to be up to date with their shots and other medical necessities prescribed by a veterinarian.
On another note, Norris elaborated on the backstory of why this new residential policy was enacted.
“We would only allow animals if you had an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) or a service animal on campus,” said Norris, “But we know sometimes students don’t fall into either.”
Norris noted that despite the old animal housing policy that only accounted for ESAs and service animals, many students wanted to bring their pets onto campus. She spoke about how this inspired Residence Life to think about how to incorporate pets into student life on campus.
“We looked at different universities and saw what they were doing with pet-friendly housing, and we thought it would be something great to bring to Saint Leo,” Norris stated.
“I have a pet myself, and I love my dog to death,” said Norris. “He’s like my best friend,” said Norris.
Norris realized many students felt the same way about their pets and thought that allowing pets would improve the residential experience at Saint Leo.
For questions about the pet policy, students can contact Residence Life through email at residence.life@saintleo.edu or in-person visits. Students can also read the policy on the Saint Leo website.
Students can find the pet policy on the Saint Leo website under Residential Experience and Community Standards.
The new pet policy on campus is a great opportunity for students to brighten their student life, as well as improve students’ mental health and alleviate homesickness.
The policy is now in effect, so students can apply to allow their pets into housing today!
