#Backtocampus : Our furry friends excited to see us!

The dearth of pampering and food that campus pets suffered from amid an online college life, finally came to an end as students started attending offline classes.

One of the most heart warming welcomes that students of Delhi University got, was from the pets of their respective colleges. The dearth of pampering and food that campus pets suffered from amid an online college life, finally came to an end as students who started attending offline classes, came bearing treats for their furry friends. Many students were quick to make friends with their college pets on the first day of reopening, and also posted selfies with them on their social media profiles. “Even though I hadn’t met Flash - Hansraj’s campus dog - earlier, I knew of him from his Instagram page. On my first day of college, Flash came running to me and bumped me with his nose as I entered Hansraj’s gate. Since one week of students attending offline classes, Flash has been having a wonderful time. He wags his tail, asking for treats and pats from new students. While some students are scared of Flash’s friendly behaviour, others who have pets at their homes give him biscuits and food. He seems very happy around a college filled with hustle bustle and edible leftovers! But there’s something that we all understand about Flash now and that’s basically that he’s a full on simp for girls. He doesn’t give too much reaction to boys in comparison,” says Vinit Mehta, a second year student of Hansraj College.

Students of Delhi University, who’ve started attending offline classes, come bearing treats for their furry friends.

Vinit Mehta with Flash

Students seek the company of pets thriving on their campus as much as pets enjoying the attention of students in colleges. “Pet therapy after a hectic day of classes feels so so good! Having college pets is soothing for students’ mental health. Indraprastha College for Women has three dogs living on the college premises - Chameli, Sheru and Cheetah. All three are everyone’s favourite, but they don’t give you attention till you give them scratches and food! Amid the lockdowns, the staff living in the college premises, the guards etc kept feeding and looking after the three dogs. But since the dogs have been so used to being around students since so many years now, they were exhilarated to meet the students once again in college, after a span of two years! Although pre-lockdown, a bit reserved and introverted in their behaviour, this was the first time I’m seeing the dogs open up so much to new students. It’s like two years of separation from college students has changed their personalities,” says Devina Kapoor, a second year student of Indraprastha College for Women.

Devina Kapoor with Sheru

As hang out zones around the campus are filled with scores of students queuing to grab a bite, the dogs and cats around these student canteens have now begun to spend more time at these food joints. “I have been living in North Campus amid the entire lockdown and I always went to Pandit Ji canteen (near Gwyer Hall hostel) for my meals. Jabbu, the dog who lives near by used to visit Pandit Ji’s canteen a lot in the pre pandemic era. However he was hardly around during the time when university was shut. As there were not many students and hostellers to feed Jabbu during the time campus was shut, he started to frequent other restaurants around the campus in hope of getting food. However, as they thought of him as a street dog and not a campus pet, they used to shoo him away. But students and hostellers like me who continued to stay on a shut campus to prepare for our PhD exams, used to go to Jabbu and feed him. Now as students have begun offline classes, Jabbu is back again to Pandit Ji’s canteen and spends all his time asking for food here!” says Sanjay Kataria, a masters students in Library and Information Science.

Cats around the campus, have been allowing students to shower them with treats and pets too. Students in pet societies who had been working to feed campus pets when the campus was shut are thrilled to be able to see them everyday. “There are many cats around the campus. In Miranda House there’s a cat called Bijlee. Bijlee enjoys her own space and if she comes to cuddle, only then are you allowed to touch her. There are cats in Gwyer Hall hostel too. The cats missed us more than we missed them. The feeling of mirth and reuniting after so long is unspoken yet understood. Students are glad to be back to campus and meet the cats. It was one of the things we were looking forward to. I am also the general secretary of Aavya, the pet society of Miranda House and we made sure to feed the cats and dogs around our college and in North Campus even during the time the colleges were shut. So coming back to a full house in college, and seeing our college pet getting showered with love and food everyday from so many students, has been nothing short of overwhelming,” says Aishani Awasthi, a second year student of Miranda House college.

Aishani Awasthi with Bijlee

Author tweets @FizzyBuddha