Missing the Family Pets While Away at College
Our last blog was about homesickness, which can mean a lot of things. Your student may be missing the family unit – having meals together, going to movies, having deep conversations. Or they may be missing comfy beds, privacy, and their favorite homemade treats. One thing parents may not think about is how much their students miss their pets.
Whether it’s cats, dogs, birds, fish or some other exotic animal, students miss spending time with them. I’m going to focus on dogs here because that’s what I know. We’re usually a three-dog house, though we only have two dogs in our home right now.
Our 11-year-old, 135 lb. chocolate lab, Moose, has literally grown up with our twins. Scout, our “little one” at 85 lb., is just three years old. Our daughters joke that we got Scout to fill the void as they headed off to college. They aren’t completely wrong. They graduated in 2022, but we brought Scout home in late 2020, in preparation. (Yep, she’s a Covid puppy.)
Our dogs love and miss our girls so much. We’ve used Life360 in our house since our girls started driving – the whole family is on it. For the first six months after the twins left for college, every time Life360 would make its special chime indicating someone had finished a drive, the dogs would run to the garage or front door, waiting for them to come in. It was heart-breaking.
Our girls miss their dogs just as much as the dogs miss them. When the twins come home, they often give the dogs big hugs even before giving mom and dad hugs. And Scout likes to sleep in one of their rooms, or in the hallway between their doorways. Moose likes to spread out their clothes on the floor and sleep on top of them. We’re always trying to find ways to help them fill that empty spot when they’re away.
In one of the first care packages we sent, we included a 5x7 framed photo of them with their dogs. When we visit our girls’ rooms, it’s still prominently displayed and something they say they cherish every day. I also found an Etsy store that made little stuffed keychains of the family pet. I had one made of each of our dogs and our girls love them. (Unfortunately, that Etsy shop is closed now, but here’s another custom key chain option: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1354979094/custom-dog-photo-keychain-cat-picture?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=stuffed+dog+keychain&ref=sr_gallery-1-5&pro=1&frs=1&sts=1&organic_search_click=1 OR you can just send them a little 4-inch stuffed version of their favorite pet: https://www.etsy.com/listing/923443385/photo-customization-diy-dog-cushion-pet?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=stuffed+dog+keychain&ref=sr_gallery-1-8&pro=1&frs=1&bes=1&sts=1&organic_search_click=1)
Many people called us crazy for the other things we did to try to help our girls miss their dogs less. One twin goes to school in Austin. Since we’re in Houston, about 2.5 hours away, we brought our “little one” to see her. (Moose doesn’t travel well.) We made a day trip out of it. We left home around 9am, picked up our daughter after her morning classes, and went to lunch outside where the dog could join us. We were home before bedtime that night, and we all felt like we got in good time with our loved ones, both human and furry.
For our daughter at school in Birmingham, it’s a bit harder. But we have taken Scout to see her twice. It’s a 10-hour drive versus a two-hour flight, so people really called us crazy for this one. But we took our “little” pup to Parents’ Weekend, stayed in a pet-friendly VRBO, and took her everywhere we could – restaurants with outdoor dining, parks, the family tailgate hosted by the college. And I must add that Scout was the belle of the ball that day – she got so much attention at the tailgate. So many kids were missing their own pets and took advantage of the opportunity to hug and pet a dog on campus.
Of course, at the College Care Package Company, we have a box for this. It’s called the “I WOOF You” box, from the Dog. (We have also shipped one custom “from the Cat” box too.) Our dog box includes: the custom dog keychain, Scooby snacks cinnamon treats (for humans), a dog nightlight, dog socks, dog jokes book, a dog mug, and more. Most importantly, we print a photo of the dogs and pop it into a 5x7 frame that can be displayed in your student’s room. It’s not a warm dog hug, but at least it gives them some comfort when they are missing their furry family members.