By Megan Osborn
Moving off campus can be a bit like striking out into the wilderness. Students who choose to live off campus may encounter wildlife through pets they bring into their home and the pests that come in uninvited.
Junior Rachel Snyder moved off campus her sophomore year. Excited about the many freedoms that she would enjoy off campus, she was especially thrilled at the prospect of being able to own a pet.
"I've always grown up with animals, and I was lonely," Snyder said.
A year ago she adopted a dog named Spencer from the Humane Society. Spencer changed Snyder's lifestyle permanently because he was often sick.
"When I got him he had an ear infection, a staph infection, he was losing hair and severely underweight," Snyder said. "I paid $1,500 in vet bills just to find out what was wrong with him."
Snyder spent even more money trying to find food that Spencer would eat, and also pays $40 per month for medication.
"And because of his separation anxiety I have to make trips home in between classes to see him," Snyder said. "That's not including what I do when I'm home, like taking him to the dog park."
Snyder has also had to deal with flea infestations that arose due to the arrival of a kitten her roommate adopted. The fleas bit all of the pets in the house and infested the carpet. The flea treatment was $30 per pet.
Sophomore Emma Chadband can relate to Snyder's flea problems.
She also experienced a flea infestation in her house when she adopted an abandoned two-week old kitten that she found on the street.
"If I hadn't taken him in, he might have starved," Chadband said.
Although pets can bring pests into a house, senior Aly Ferris wishes her lease allowed cats. For the past six months her house has been infested with mice.
"I can say that with certainty because I've seen them," Ferris said.
Ferris explains that mice get into houses often through holes. A mouse's bone structure allows it to fit through holes the size of a dime.
Ferris and her housemates contacted their landlord about the problem. Ferris' landlord tried traps and a special high frequency sound tool, both of which have failed to help. So, he tried something different.
"Our landlord went and put down some poison over fall break without checking with us first," Ferris said.
Ferris is frustrated with the pet ban in her lease in light of their rodent infestation.
"I think the only solution to mice is a cat, which is forbidden in the lease," Ferris said. "But when we had a cat here briefly over the summer, there were no mice."
