Georgia Tech’s residence hall pet policy is fairly reasonable and cut-and-dry: Citing health, sanitation and noise concerns, it specifies that “pets of any type may not be kept in the residential areas with the exception of fish in the proper aquarium facilities.” But some students just can’t resist a furry face. We caught up with a few former Tech pet rebels to get their stories and advice (all of which is completely ill-gotten, and which you definitely should not follow).
Tech pet rebel: Lynn Kinnaman, IE 81, a Home Depot senior engineering manager in Alpharetta, Ga.
Her story: “I was a sophomore in industrial engineering, and it was early 1979. It was a Pekingese and her name was Princess. She lived with my mom, but I brought her to the dorm for two weeks while my mom went on vacation. I had hoped to keep the dog longer if I could get away with it.”
Busted? “I was a little worried that someone might complain if she barked. But most of my floor mates loved having her there. It’s lots of fun to have a puppy around and relieve some stress!”
Words of Wisdom: “Try it! It’s fun!”
Tech pet rebel: Ginny McSwain, Phys 99, a physics professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.
Her story: “It was during the fall of my senior year that my roommate Lili had several hamsters. I don’t know where she got them. I think the first one was named Freddie. When he died, she got two more to replace him. Those two also died pretty quickly. I remember Lili being very upset over the deaths. When the last one was sick and near death, we tried to revive it by warming it up with a hair dryer. Of course we failed, but we were trying anything to help Lili feel better!”
Busted? “No, I don’t think so. We lived in ULC 233, which was a seven-person apartment with private bedrooms. She kept the cage in her bedroom.”
Words of wisdom: “Stick with something small so it can stay in a cage or tank. Avoid smelly pets, or at least keep the cages very clean so they don’t smell. A lot of people use hamster bedding made of cedar, which has a strong and distinctive smell, too. You don’t want an RA catching a whiff of the pet smell out in the hallway.”
Tech pet rebel: Jenn Selby Swanson, Arch 01, an architecture designer living in Baltimore, Md.
Her story: “It was sophomore year, 1998-99, fall and winter quarters. My sister’s neighbor bred hedgehogs, and I fell in love with them. They are so unusual! I initially named him Hercules, but when my good friend at Tech had to watch him off campus for the weekend, she nicknamed him Fat Bastard [after the Austin Powers character] due to his foul and unfriendly demeanor. The name stuck. He was a complete curmudgeon, but he had an adorable face, which won most over.”
Busted? “Not even once. We weren’t an unruly bunch in Center Street, so I never worried about staff coming in. I honestly never thought about it. He was in a cage, didn’t bark, and didn’t smell. Totally low maintenance.”
Words of wisdom: “To quote George Costanza, ‘It’s not a lie if you believe it.’ A bit of an analogy stretch there, but still applies. Just bring your pet into your dorm like you would any other personal item like it totally belongs. No one will be the wiser.”
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