When it comes to leaving for college, homesickness is always a risk. Something that makes it even harder is leaving your beloved pet back home. There’s something especially difficult about not having your fuzzy companion by your side. For those of us with pets a long drive or even a flight away, we know that there are phases of pet withdrawal.
1. You walk away from your house and get in your car, holding back tears because you already know how much you’re going to miss your baby (read: pet).
2. You get back to your dorm and text your parents to tell them you got back safe, then immediately ask for a picture of your pet.
3. Classes start up again as usual and you seem to be in the swing of things.
4. One especially lonely night, you look at your stuffed animal and wish it was actually your pet.
5. You start looking through pictures of your pet and thinking about how much you miss them.
6. You FaceTime your parents, but really you’re just calling so that you can talk to your pet and see how cute they still are.
7. A few weekends later, you finally cave and just make the drive home to see your little fluffy buddy.
8. As you’re getting ready to leave again for school, you realize that this is all going to happen over and over again until the summer – when you can spend a glorious three months giving your pet all the love they deserve.
In the end, you never forget to hug your pet before you go. They’re always the hardest goodbye and the happiest hello. Your pet is your number one fan and they are always there, tail wagging.