Here is what you need to know about pets at FAU. When my daughter first started at FAU, she often called or texted daily asking for pictures of our family dog Lucy. I think she missed the dog more than me! Over the years we have outfitted Lucy with all the FAU gear available for dogs. And often I found the more times I sent pictures of our family dog, the fewer texts I would get saying “But mom I found the cutest dog who needs to be rescued” Don’t get me wrong, I love animals, especially dogs. But I am not a huge fan of students having a pet at college. I understand that the unconditional love of a sweet puppy or kitten can be wonderful around stressful times like midterms or finals. (FAU often brings therapy dogs to campus during these times for just this reason.) I am, however, very aware of the work that goes into training a pet and the expenses that come along with their lovability.  Nevertheless, students occasionally develop amnesia for these sorts of realities and get drawn in by floppy ears and wagging tails.

Pet Policies

This, of course, does not include students who have service animals. There are not too many allowed into dorms; however, they do try to accommodate qualified students. For the guidelines for requesting an Emotional Support Animal accommodation on campus, click here. but for those who live off-campus, there are apartments that allow for pets. The Disability Act allows for ESA animals (Emotional Support Animals) and service animals to live with you for free; otherwise, it is considered discrimination against people with disabilities. To bring a service animal on campus, a student has to go through a specific process. Click here for that information.

However, should your students decide to adopt a pet while at college, they should check the rules for where they are living or intend to live. When searching for an apartment, it is easy enough to find out which are pet- friendly without having to make too many phone calls. Some apartment complexes have separate leases for pets (which can often be an extra charge a month or high fee at the beginning of the lease)

If your student lives in the dorms, the only allowed pets are fish. The fish must be housed in a 10 gallon or less tank. If students are found to have other pets they can face fines or even be removed from the housing.

If you do end up with grand-puppies, you may want to add some Owl gear to the holiday shopping list. There are all kinds of fun leashes, collars, and toys for our newest, furry fans. If you’re lucky, you too may get some zany videos/pics like the ones I send them of our dog in return.

Dog Friendly Restaurants

When it comes to dog-friendly restaurants, unless you have a Service/Emotional Support animal, dog-friendly means you may eat outside with them.

Casa D’Angelo

Coconuts Bahamas Grill

Dubliner Irish Pub

Duffy’s Sports Grill

Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen

Kapow

Lion and Eagle English Pub

Max’s Grille

Rocco’s Tacos

The Boca Beach House

Tomasso’s Pizza & Subs

Tucker Duke’s

Yard House

Pet-friendly Hotels:

Be sure, when making reservations, you tell them you are traveling with a pet. Some have fees.

Extended Stay America Boca Raton

Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott Boca

Hilton Boca Raton Suites – small dogs only

Hyatt Place Boca Raton/Downtown

Ocean Lodge– small dogs only

Quality Inn Boca Raton – small dogs only

Residence Inn by Marriott – small dogs only

Towneplace Suites by Marriott Boca Raton

Waterstone Resort and Marina – small dogs only

Woodspring Suites – small dogs

Dog Parks:

Bark Park Dog Beach – 3001 N Ocean Blvd. Need a permit- weekend $11 per dog

Canine Cove at South County Regional Park – 12551 Glades Rd. Two large dog sections, 1 medium dog and 1 small dog section. Pet fountains, dogi-pot pet stations with plastic bags and waste receptacles, pet washing station.

Mizner Bark Dog Park – 751 Banyan Trl. Separate area for small dogs, medium dogs, one for large dogs. Once inside the gated entryway, dogs can run off-leash. Park features include doggie bags, water fountains, wash stations, and trash cans.

Lake Ida Dog Park – 1455 Lake Ida Rd. Two large dog sections, one small dog section, paved dog wash station, Fido fountain, dog bag dispensers

Woofing Waters Dog Park – 401 S Powerline Rd. Located at Quiet Waters Park. The dog park has facilities for larger dogs, and for smaller dogs. Features for the big dogs include a spraying hydrant, a shower nozzle, an eight-nozzle line jet, and nearly 800 linear feet of hard-surface paths. Little dogs also get a shower nozzle and an eight-nozzle line jet, as well as a ring, or water loop, where they can run through an assortment of sprays. The smaller dogs also have a grassy, fenced area they can run around in freely. Pets rule!

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If you’re wondering what to bring and haven’t started shopping for your incoming freshman yet, whether for things for their dorm or clothes; well, then, we are here to tell you that you probably shouldn’t bother. You see, my daughters have cleaned out just about every store and depleted us of our savored stack of Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons only to find out that many of the things we purchased were just a waste of money. I have had three daughters go off to college over the past few years, what I want to share is that there are a few things you really do not need to purchase for freshman move-in.

Don’t Bring…

Do not buy a printer. There are quite a few places across campus to print wirelessly and it’s by far cheaper to load money on their Owl Card than purchasing ink refills.

Curtains. I know it says that students can bring curtains to cover up their closets because they have no doors but trust us; the curtains will spend more time on the floor or pushed to the side. And when they crash to the floor in the middle of the night, no one is happy.

All of FAU’s Dorms are equipped with high-speed Internet; however, they recommend bringing along an Ethernet Cable. Buy the cable, but save the receipt, you may not even need to open the package. Leave Alexa and/or Echo home. While FAU does allow these devices on their network, not sure their roommate would appreciate your student’s commands.
Of course, if they are living in an apartment-style or a single dorm room, perhaps their roommates would not mind having these devices.

It is tempting to want to simply pack by taking everything out of the drawers and closet, but truth be told, if your student’s wardrobe is as ridiculously large as my daughters are, it just won’t fit. In sunny Boca Raton, the temperature is pretty consistent year-round. The typical outfit consists of tank tops and flip-flops.  A jacket or two is more than enough to get your student through the “winter” months.

There simply isn’t room no matter how many under-bed boxes you buy. The same holds true for shoes. My daughter brought every shoe she owned with her. Even with a shoe rack, there just was not enough space and I had to take a box home with me.

One of my daughter’s roommates showed up with a 24-piece pot and pan set. While it was lovely, we assure you most of it was rarely used. As a matter of fact, when we packed up at the end of the semester, there was an array of kitchen items strewn all over the counter and the girls weren’t even sure which belonged to whom.

As for their pets, there are not too many allowed into dorms. For off-campus living, there are some apartments that allow pets.

Finally, we encourage you to have your students speak with their roommates before arriving at school. My daughter lived in one of the Apartment Style Dorms with a full kitchen. She talked, texted, snap chatted and so on with her new roommates but still, we ended up with two coffee makers and about three toasters. Google Drive is a great tool for creating a spreadsheet of who is bringing what.

With so many great deals out there on  Overstock, Wayfair, Dormify, and Amazon in addition to the traditional big box stores like Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s,  Walmart and Target, if you plan in advance, you may be able to save some money too and not end up running around trying to find items that could possibly be sold out.

As for what to bring, we’ve got our Shopping Guide for New Students that breaks it down and has some great places to find what your student will need. Happy Shopping!

Happy shopping. Pass on these great tips, tell your friends and like us on Facebook, Instagram,  Twitter, and Pinterest. Find out more about how to use HaveUHeard as a great resource here. Sign up for other great tips at haveuheard.com.

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