In the upcoming academic year, Towers Complex will become the new home of the pet special interest housing community. Upon the end of this semester, Myers Hall will close, leaving students who bring pets with them to campus without a place to go.

Director of Residence Life Kendra Skinner said they’ve decided on two buildings to house this community.

“We have two buildings that we’ve identified, Towers West and Towers South, and we’ll have two floors in each building that are reserved for a pet. It should be floors three and four, lower floors so that if you have a dog, you can get them out quickly when they need to go out,” Skinner said.

Towers also has more green space for animals to exercise, as well as the old band field behind the building, which provides space for animals to play.

Skinner said students will not have to pay a higher rate for the rooms but will have to pay a registration fee. This is $100 for dogs and cats and $50 for other small animals. All other rules of the current pet special interest housing will still apply.

“Those two buildings and that number of floors actually provide more bed spaces than we already have identified in Myers for the community,” Skinner said.

Skinner also says she doesn’t believe this change will alter the atmosphere of living in the Towers Complex.

“We have a whole other group of animals that are classified under emotional support animals that live on campus. And so we do actually have a number of animals here in Towers already, so this will just add a few more,” Skinner said.

As is the same for students with emotional support animals, pets will not be allowed in shared spaces in the Towers Complex. This includes floor lounges and Tower's own Fireside Lounge.

In this case, there is concern for the safety of the animals and other building residents.

Skinner says cats cannot be more than 40 pounds, and dogs must not be over 50 pounds. Other small caged animals must be able to fit in a 29-gallon tank or cage.

Students also must have had their pets for a while and established a bond. Dogs must have been with the student for 10 months and cats for six months.

“The intent is that you are bringing a family pet from home you have a connection with already,” Skinner said.

Freshman Animal Science major Olivia Gray already has an animal with her on campus, her emotional support animal, Kian.

Gray is among the students who are on board with this upcoming change. She says connecting with other people who have pets is a great way for students to make new friends, and having more pets on campus will boost those opportunities.

“Dogs are a really easy way to make friends. Most of my friends who aren’t students are from the dog park. Maybe having a pet club, it would be really nice,” Gray said.

But Gray also voiced some concerns. Every animal has a different personality, and some may not get along.

“I feel like we should have some sort of temperament test because I wouldn’t feel comfortable walking through the halls and having another dog lunging at mine,” Gray said.

If two animals clash, it can cause problems for both parties involved and put the animals themselves at risk. Gray also voiced concerns about owners properly cleaning up after their animals in the green spaces outside of Towers.

“There are people with emotional support animals who don’t actually pick up after their dogs, so I can’t imagine how it will go with more pets,” Gray said.

Skinner says they are open to adding accommodations like doggie bag stations but have no plans to do so yet.

“We don’t want to see areas around the building start to look bad or that it becomes difficult to walk your animals because other people haven’t picked up after themselves. It’s an expectation that you're picking up after your animals.” Skinner said.

As the Towers community starts to embrace the new animal community, responsible pet ownership is paramount.

Junior Communications major and Resident Assistant Ruthie Vierling says she has had no issues with pets on campus and is open to the change.

“I think, especially after COVID having happened, emotional support from animals is more of a needed thing for students on campus. It being open with the Towers complex opens it up to more students having access to that,” Vierling said.