Wofford faculty and students concerned by attention to canines

Written by D.O. Ghater

At Wofford, dogs are undeniably a part of the culture. Our mascot is a dog, we use dogs for therapy, and every year, students bring pictures of their pets for the annual Blessing of the Animals. However, are all of these just signs of an unhealthy obsession with our furry friends? Some members of the Wofford community think so.

“I remember walking down the hallway in Wightman one day,” said one RA, “and I saw the door open. I thought the person coming through was being nice and holding it for me, but then I saw that she was holding it open for her dog.”

One anonymous professor feels that students and faculty members’ love for dogs is toeing the line between affection and “a weird, unusual infatuation.” They mentioned students’ attention spans being shorter when dogs were on campus, and the professor also told of an instance in which one student held a stare out of a window in Main when they spotted a man walking his dogs. 

Some dogs, such as approved service dogs, are allowed to accompany students on campus, but there is a thorough process for getting these pets approved. Despite dogs’ competition with people for the affection of Wofford students, the policy for pets in residence halls remains the same: they are not allowed. Some students, however, take shortcuts and break the rules to not have to say goodbye to their most precious pals during the academic year.

“I knew a kid freshman year who brought his pug to Marsh,” said Jose Rhymer, ‘22. “He would’ve gotten away with it, but it ran into the RA when I opened the door on my way to breakfast.”

Therapy dogs have a good turnout every time they come around, but even when they’re not around, it seems as though any dog is a welcome addition to campus. To many students, saying anything negative about students’ love for dogs is blasphemous and not well-received.

“We can’t be friends if you don’t like dogs,” said Hanna Henderson, ’20. “I can’t be around people who don’t want to pet every dog they see.” 

Another student: “Dogs are better than people. Hands down. I would have three dogs as my roommates in Phase 5 if I could.”

Since students have moved off campus due to the unprecedented coronavirus break, their infatuation with dogs has been somewhat contained and relegated to their homes. Moving forward, however, as faculty’s concerns grow, the Wofford community may have yet another change looming.