Trend Story

College Students of the Palouse Are an Exception to Shelter Trend

As students move out of college dorms and into apartments, some decide to get a pet as a companion. But what happens to those pets when students leave college?

According to an article on foxnews.com in May 2009, during this time of the year, when college students are getting ready to leave for the summer, college town animal shelters see an increase in the number of abandoned animals.

However, college town shelters in Pullman, Wash., and Moscow, Idaho, disagree.

“Many people place blame on college students because they don’t want to think individuals in their communities are irresponsible,” said Lori Freeman, director of Humane Society of the Palouse.

“The timing of the increase corresponds to when students leave,” she said. This results in students receiving the blame for the increase, she explained.

The amount of shelter cats increases in the spring because most kittens are born during this time, Freeman said, so the increase is primarily due to people not getting their animals spayed.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “Only 10 percent of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered.”

Also according to the ASPCA, a cat can produce twice as many litters as dogs, with an average number of four to six per litter of both kittens and puppies.

“I started working here in 1997, so in the last 13 years I’ve got a good feeling of the trends in the area,” said Freeman.

“If [the claim] was true, we would see the same increase in the amount of dogs, but we don’t,” she said.

AnimalHaven, the Whitman County Humane Society in Pullman, also did not find the claim to be relevant.

“There is no way of knowing where all the stray cats come from,” said Ambrose Chong, assistant shelter manager of AnimalHaven.

AnimalHaven gets around 80 kittens a year, mostly from May to early November, said Chong, but because this is when most cats get pregnant, it is inconsistent to say college students have abandoned them. Only a few dogs, maybe one or two, come in at this time of the year, he said.

Both shelters receive so many kittens, that those wishing to surrender their litters must be put on a waiting list.

Currently, the Humane Society of the Palouse has 16 dogs, and 56 cats. AnimalHaven, the Whitman County Humane Society, has nine dogs, 19 cats, and one kitten at the shelter, but they have three cats and six kittens in foster care as well.

The shelters take steps to ensure adopting students are reliable and responsible. College students wishing to adopt must fill out paperwork and submit documents proving they live in a pet-friendly home. In some cases, the shelter will ask for proof of paid pet deposits.

“It is not written on the forms, but we usually ask students, ‘Once you are done [with college] are you taking it with you?’” said Chong. If they have to, the staff at AnimalHaven will call the parents of students to ask further questions, he said.

WSU student, Becky Williams, a senior speech and hearing science major, made certain that getting a pet fit into her plans for the future.

“Before I got my dog I made sure my parents were okay with it, and I made sure they could watch it after college if anything happened,” said Williams.

Williams got her dog in college, knowing about the inconsistent claims of the high number of abandoned pets from students. Although she will continue to have to choose a pet-friendly home, and pay more per month for pet rent, she said she wouldn’t change a thing.

Before purchasing a pet, Tara Wimer, canine health technician at Humane Society of the Palouse, reminds students that a pet is a long-term commitment.

“Plan ahead, know where you want to live after college because not every place allows pets,” said Wimer.

“Keep in mind that having a pet is an 18-20 year commitment,” she said.

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Outline:
Lede: What is the trend?
Palouse doesn’t agree with trend. Why?
Alternative reasons for the claim
Statistics on stray animals
Member from Humane Society of Palouse
Member from AnimalHaven
Student who owns a pet
How to be responsible when getting a pet?

Sources:

Trend:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520727,00.html

Statistics of stray cats:
http://www.aspca.org/about-us/about-the-aspca.html

Lori Freeman
Director of Humane Society of the Palouse.
(208) 883-1166

Tara Wimer
Canine Health Technician at Humane Society of the Palouse
(208) 883-1166

Ambrose Chong
Assistant Shelter Manager of AnimalHaven
(509) 332-3422

Becky Williams
Senior, Speech and Hearing Science major
(253) 740-4242