Service animals and emotional support animals (ESA) are scattered throughout the dorms on Colorado Mesa University’s campus. Every sort of creature from a dog to a guinea pig can fall under one or both of these categories. However, once you stem beyond the bounds of these categories the limitations on pets grow tremendously.

It is understandable why animals such as cats and dogs are not permitted outside of the service animal and ESA guidelines. They shed, can be loud and could cause damages to the dorm rooms. To avoid these problems the limitation set upon most of the student body is that the only regular pet permitted are fish.

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However, this limitation seems extreme. There are some creatures that do not pose these problems that are still not permitted. Some examples of this are turtles, aquatic frogs, axolotls and other aquatic pets that are not explicitly fish. This limitation seems unnecessary as none of these creatures pose the problems to the dorms and the campus that their non aquatic counterparts might. As such, I think that this limitation should be modified.

This limitation seems harsh when all of the facts are considered. Many students prefer pets with more personality than a fish and would like the opportunity to get something that’s a little more exotic. A student’s choice in a pet can be a way for them to express themselves and to add some spice to their life.

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These limitations can also oftentimes lead to students having to leave behind or even get rid of their pets when they start school. In many cases this is unavoidable due to the damages the animal could potentially cause the school and its property. However, in the cases of these aquatic pets, this struggle can easily be avoided.

One of the biggest reasons that these limitations should be modified is the feeling a student gets when they walk into a room and see their turtle playing with a rubber duck on the surface of the water or their frogs chasing each other in circles. This can be enough to take a stressful day and turn it on a dime with that little moment of cuteness and fun.

Fish don’t provide those experiences and usually work as little more than decoration. As such, perhaps the regulations should be re-evaluated and modified to include at least some additional critters on the list of permitted pets.