Ferris housing only allows students to keep fish as pets. However, for some students, an aquatic animal isn’t enough.
Some Bulldogs are living with illegal animals in residence halls. A variety of different pets are hidden by these students, ranging from small animals like rodents and reptiles, to larger animals like dogs and cats.
This is true of an anonymous female Ferris senior, who lived with a kitten in a residence hall.
“I kept her a secret by making sure she was well-trained and behaved while I was gone. As for fire drills, I would take her to my car before the alarms went off and would wait until the drills were done. When I would go home for weekends or breaks, she’d come with me,” she said.
She also said that many people knew about her kitten, such as people in her program and even the Resident Assistants (RAs). However, when she was caught living with her kitten on three occasions by an RA, she was told to remove the pet.
“At first it was OK, and then the second time I was told to get her out or I’d be documented. Then the final time I was caught with her, I was told I was being documented. However, my RA never asked my name, my student ID number and never told me what was going to happen. She just said she was documenting me when she got back from an RA meeting and if my kitten wasn’t gone before she got back, I’d be in trouble,” she said.
She said her kitten was an emotional support animal approved by Ferris Disabilities Services, but she still had to remove her pet to avoid consequences.
“I was approved through Ferris’ disability office to have an emotional support animal, which allows me to have any animal live with me even if an apartment, dorm or house doesn’t allow pets. So technically, I shouldn’t have had to remove my kitten,” she said.
The anonymous female senior isn’t the only student who lived with a furry friend. An anonymous male Ferris senior and RA said that students will work hard to bring in prohibited pets and keep it a secret.
“Some residents will try what they can to bring in animals and do their best to hide them in places like the armoire, in the bathroom or in closets,” he said.
He said he has found two cats and one dog living illegally with residents.
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