When most students go to college, they say goodbye to Fluffy and Spot for the year.
But students at some schools are saying they need to bring their pets into school dorms - for their mental well-being.
Though students with disabilities have generally been able to live in college dorms with seeing-eye dogs and other "service animals," now some are arguing for another breed: psychiatric-service animals that aid the mind instead of the body.
Because these animals can function as emotional anchors, students at some American schools want the right to bring them indoors.
One case involved a student suffering from depression at Our Lady of the Lake University in Texas. Sarah Sevick wanted to keep her pet ferret, Lilly, in her dorm room in case she had a panic attack.
Our Lady of the Lake officials denied her request, and Sevick filed a legal-discrimination complaint last year. It was ultimately rejected.
Most universities have similarly strict policies governing pets in dorms.
Penn, for example, allows no pets other than birds and fish in its college houses, but for students with disabilities, a service dog is acceptable.
"According to the [Americans with Disabilities Act], companion animals are not service animals, so we don't allow animals that are not for disability reasons," Penn's Director of Student Disabilities Services Matt Tominey said.
With more students clamoring to bring their psychiatric-service animals to college, however, some universities are forced to reconsider the line between those who truly need animals and those who simply want them for pleasure.
The University of Wisconsin, for example, prohibits pets but allows service animals. It also has a special policy that enables students to visit with "therapy animals" should they require them.
The distinction between service animals and companion animals should be made on a case-by-case basis, says Jane Jarrow, a consultant for disability issues in higher education.
Yet Jarrow refuses to classify psychiatric-service animals as real service animals like seeing-eye dogs. She said service animals are trained for certain tasks, and providing emotional comfort does not fall under that definition.
Other schools avoid the matter entirely by allowing any student to have pets on campus.
Eckerd College, a private liberal-arts school on Florida's Gulf Coast, places students with pets in "pet houses."
The three pet houses - which typically contain 30 students each - allow dogs, cats, ferrets, ducks, guinea pigs and snakes to live with their owners.
"We've had this policy for many years and haven't encountered a problem yet," said Michael Robilotto, assistant director of residence life at Eckerd.
But it remains unclear whether owning pets actually contributes to better emotional health.
According to Tominey, owning pets may not have any tangible health benefits.
Yet Alan Beck, a former Penn professor and current director of Purdue's Center of the Human-Animal Bond, thinks there is no doubt that animals are important to emotional health.
"Universities should permit service animals in situations where the student cannot function, and that includes people with psychological concerns," he said.
Penn is not heading in that direction any time soon, Tominey said. Students just may have to settle for photographs of their cherished pets.
Or, they can always move off campus.
"My cat definitely relieves stress," said College junior Catherine Lim, who lives in Hamilton Court. "He's the happiest one in this apartment."
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