Having a pet while juggling school responsibilities can be an adjustment for any college student.

John Wesling, a senior in supply chain management, said his dog, Stella, was given to him by his brother.

“Stella was originally my brother’s dog at [University of Wisconsin-La Crosse], and when he graduated, I was just becoming a sophomore and getting my own place,” Wesling said. “At that time, he asked if I wanted to take her, and I did.”

Wesling said that Stella doesn’t require much time and attention, describing her as “lazy.”

“Stella is a little different,” Wesling said. “She doesn’t require a whole lot [from] us. She’s there to hang out with us, and she just loves to be by us, and we definitely enjoy having her with us.”

Wesling claims that having a dog on campus makes being at home more fun.

“It makes it a lot more fun when you find yourself at home at times, and she’s always there,” Wesling said.

Alex Kavanagh, a senior in aerospace engineering, got his dog Bailey after looking for a dog for a while. Kavanagh credits his ability to spend time with Bailey due to less time commitment to classes.

“It kind of worked out this semester where I’m taking just 12 credits,” Kavanagh said. “So far, the time commitment to classes isn’t too constraining, but that will probably ramp up over time.”

Kavanagh had trouble taking his dog for walks earlier this year due to the weather.

“Taking a dog on walks is a good way to kind of expend that energy that they have, [but] the first week and a half after break was pretty cold, so we didn’t do any walks yet; we didn’t spend too much time outside,” Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh said that having a dog as a student makes you more responsible.

“It kind of makes you more responsive to your other responsibilities because you kind of have to keep [a schedule],” Kavanagh said. “If you let all of your work accumulate to where it all piles up until one week where you have to cram it all in, that won’t work with having a puppy and having the responsibility of having to take her out, play with her all the time, and stuff like that.”

Noah Bouromphongsa, a junior in mechanical engineering, describes taking care of his dog, Bullet, “like clockwork.”

“Morning, you feed him, he eats, and then take him outside, uses the restroom and then bring him back [in],” Bouromphongsa said.,” Bouromphongsa said. “Then comes classes, and in between, take him out again. At night, he has dinner, bring him out again and then if it’s nicer out, he goes out and he plays on central campus almost all the time.”

Similar to Wesling, Bouromphongsa likes having something around at home.

“Obviously, there’s company when you’re hanging out, and he’s around,” Boruomphongsa said. “He’s a companion at best. It’s good to have him around.”