Not Animal House, but DelVal is number one

Delaware Valley University, which introduced a pet-friendly residence hall last year, is expanding the program this year.

The university earned national recognition for its animal friendliness when it began allowing students living on the second floor of Samuel Hall on its Doylestown campus to have approved pets in their rooms. Three chinchillas, two cats, three geckos, three snakes, two rabbits, and five hamsters and gerbils shared the hall with their 18 human owners.

This year, 40 students will have pets at Samuel and South Halls, said spokeswoman Annmarie Ely. Cats are flagged this year. The university declined to specify a reason, except to say that more research was needed. Dogs, which require exercise and outdoor bathroom breaks and bark, remain a no-no.

The vast majority of U.S. colleges prohibit dorm pets, with the exception of trained service dogs for the impaired, medically prescribed "therapy" animals, and fish.

But for Delaware Valley, founded in 1896 as the National Farm School and still rich in agricultural and animal life programs, pets seemed a natural fit.

The folks at Great Value Colleges, a website that evaluates schools on a variety of measures, thought so, too. This summer, it named Delaware Valley number one in the nation in "Great Small Colleges for Animal Lovers."

The university received attention for its pet floor, 15 animal clubs, and various animal-related majors, including animal science, biology, equine management, equine science, small animal science, and zoo science. Among the clubs are Ducks Unlimited, a wetland preservation group; the vaulting team, which performs tricks with horses; Animal Lifeline, a group that works with rescue animals and shelters; and Positive Awareness of Wildlife and Zoos.

Lehigh University was the only other area college on the list. Lehigh allows only fish in residence halls, but permits fraternity and sorority houses to keep a cat or a dog, and offers a variety of animal-related clubs, Great Values noted.

The list was limited to schools with fewer than 10,000 students. Delaware Valley has about 2,000 undergraduates.

At Delaware Valley, the pilot program went "really well" last year, Ely said.

A dorm room was converted into a "pet resource room," with frozen mice (snake food), cage litter, spare cages, and a deep sink for bathing. "Pet proctors" conducted inspections and offered guidance. A "pet council" governed the floor.

"It's popular with the students because we have a lot of students who love animals here or who are majoring in something related to animals," she said.

Students hung pet photos on hall walls.

"Wish my human went to DelVal," read a caption last year under a mug of a gerbil.

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