I was inspired to write this blog as a consolation to myself, as I accept the fact that I won’t see my two lovely kittens, Maisy and Monty, for almost two months. Though they are the lights of my life and fires of my soul, Oberlin predicted many students would experience this animal-oriented homesickness. Obviously, no animal compares to one’s own baby, but sometimes pictures just don’t do it. Luckily for me, there are a plethora of opportunities to pet some fur and hang out with animals to stay fulfilled enough to keep up with my work.
I’m going to work backwards here, so stay with me. I would argue that some of the most helpful Oberlin animal visitors come at the end of the semester. During finals weeks at the end of the semester, Oberlin brings in service dogs to walk around Mudd Library, make friends, and spark joy. This past December, when my eyes felt blurry and my mind delirious from re-reading the same essay millions of times, a steady progression of brief “hellos” from dogs made all the difference.
But maybe this isn’t enough for you. Maybe you need a regular animal fill. We can work with that. A favorite double-procrastination method of mine is doing a Ben Franklin run, followed by a visit with the two fluffy gift shop dogs next door. The owner of the store told me the dogs had a lineup of regular visitors, and there’s always room for more. Then, if I’m feeling extra crazy, I'll head over to the jewelry store, where Kitty Purry resides. She is usually seen sunbathing and people watching in her window bed, but at the ringing of the doorbell, she springs into action. Kitty Purry, with her sleek black fu,r is truly one of the friendliest cats I’ve ever met. On the topic of friendly cats, another favorite procrastination activity of mine is arboretum walks; as I’m sure you already figured, a large motivator for this is the chance to run into friendly town cats also out for a stroll.
Maybe regular visitation isn’t enough either; this is also ok. If you feel the need to get involved with animals on an advocacy level, one of my closest friends, Clara, runs Guiding Eyes, a club/organization working to train and find homes for dogs in need. If cats are more your thing, the CATSS program offers kitten visitation hours and volunteer opportunities (it must be said, as a cat person myself, this is more up my alley).
None of this is to say anything can fill the void of missing pets back home. However, I come back to school after each break knowing the time away from my cats will be made easier through a plethora of furry friends.
