They’re cute, they’re cuddly and let’s face it, they’re just plain irresistible. Everyone loves puppies, right?

With many Loyola students living off campus, there is a recent swell in students talking about getting puppies in their junior and senior years.

Living off campus implies the first real responsibilities for college students that includes paying bills, cleaning the house and cooking for themselves. So many students think that getting a dog is just a small leap from those responsibilities into truly being on your own.

I WANT A PUPPY

“I always grew up living with dogs, and I figure that I’ll be living by myself eventually,” said music education sophomore Sara Melton as to why she wants to get a dog. “I want one for protection reasons, someone for companionship, someone to bark if there’s an intruder.”

Lauren Berman, music education sophomore and Melton’s roommate, is thinking of getting a dog with her boyfriend during the summer.

“We have always wanted a dog, and we’re both totally dog people,” she said.

Berman said they are looking forward to the companionship and someone at home “always happy to see (them), to play with and to cuddle with.”

“Hopefully it will be easier with the two of us, and it’s worth it if we can make it (our dog) work out,” Berman said.

Melton said she thinks getting a dog will make her feel better to have around while she’s living alone, though it may be difficult when she begins working.

“I would be away for most of the day, so I would have to consider a kennel or doggie daycare,” she said.

Melton said she isn’t worried about the cost or responsibility factor, because it isn’t exactly on the same level as starting a family and the type of responsibilities associated with that.

“I wouldn’t have kids or anything yet, so it would be like a precursor to having to deal with kids,” Melton said.

BEFORE YOU GET A PUPPY

Before actually deciding to adopt or purchase a puppy or a dog, there are a few things that should be considered, said Dr. Rene Baumer, D.V.M., of the Metairie Small Animal Hospital. He believes the first thing that a student must realize is that “it’s a huge responsibility.”

“It’s a job,” he said. “It’s like having a baby. You need to be willing to follow up on their health and take care of them.”

OK, so what do you do about training your little one once he’s been introduced to you and your house? Baumer recommends starting with “potty training.”

“Definitely house or potty training is the first thing to focus on,” he said. “But remember, puppies will make messes all over the house as they learn, of course.”

Baumer also suggests teaching your dog to crate train after buying a crate big enough to fit him or her.

“With crate training, you let the dog out to do its business and play for an hour or so and then put it back to stay,” he said. This allows the little one to gradually get acquainted with his or her new home, he said.

Baumer also suggested if you know absolutely nothing about dogs, to get a veterinarian first to ask them questions about how you should handle getting a dog and introducing him to your life.

All students have busy lives, but they also have a lot of free time, more so than people with full-time jobs, so a lot of dogs can be better suited for students. Baumer suggests to go to pedigree.com where there is a profile test that will best match you with a certain breed based on your lifestyle and what you’re looking for in a dog.

From Dalmatians to Daschunds, pedigree.com will help you find the right breed for you.

I HAVE A PUPPY

Though getting a puppy might not be for everyone, it definitely worked out for marketing junior Brianna Bennett. She’s been a proud mama to her male Shih-Tzu, Winston, for the last two months.

Bennett purchased Winston from a breeder in Covington but said that she didn’t exactly plan it out very well. She paid for a trip to study in Beijing next fall and now has to drop Winston off to stay with her parents.

“I got a dog without thinking about what comes after it,” she said. “I didn’t think about the consequences.”

Bennett, like a lot of dog owners, said that the hardest thing about having a dog is traveling.

“It’s hard flying home, getting someone to watch him, having him stay with friends,” she said.

She just went to the beach for Spring Break and had to take Winston. And even though Winston loved running through the sand, it was still difficult to have him along, Bennett said.

Katy Bodin, mass communication and Spanish junior who has a five-month-old male Maltese named Chance with her boyfriend of three and a half years, agrees with Bennett that traveling is one of the difficulties of owning a puppy.

“My boyfriend and I went to Destin for Spring Break, and my parents kept Chance,” she said.

But, she insists that traveling isn’t the only hardship about having her puppy. She said that the financial aspect is something she would reconsider if she were thinking of getting a dog again.

“The financial responsibility costs a lot of money,” Bodin said. “You have to think about taking him to the vet, buying food … it’s a huge financial burden.”

However, she said, knowing that he is her sole responsibility and that he relies on her makes it all worth it.

“It is exhausting, but when I get home from class and I’m tired, he just jumps in bed, cuddles up next to me and takes a nap … it’s great.”

Bennett agrees that having Winston is very rewarding not only because of the companionship but because of the real-life responsibility it brings.

“The most rewarding thing was my dad seeing that I can take care of an animal on my own without help,” she said.

Nicole Wroten can be reached at [email protected].

Winston and his owner play together in Audubon Park. (Steve Kashishian)