The Role of Pets in the Lives of College Students: Implications for College Counselors

ABSTRACT

The roles that pets play in the lives of college students have received little attention in the college counseling literature. This article will review four topics related to college students and pets that have implications for counselors: (a) the separation anxiety that students experience from not having their pets at college, (b) the devastating impact of losing a pet, (c) requests from students for emotional support animals, and (d) the use of animal-assisted interventions on campuses.

KEYWORDS:

• Animal-assisted interventions
• college counseling
• college students
• emotional support animal
• pet loss

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to acknowledge Linda Lantaff, Director of Kutztown University Disability Services Office, for her assistance with the memo of understanding included in this article.