Students adopt homeless pets virtually

The idea of students fundraising to help the disadvantaged of Trenton is nothing new. But on April 14 the Student Volunteer Council will raise funds for Trenton's often forgotten residents: the city's abandoned dogs and cats.

Students who attend the Friends of Homeless Animals' (FOHA) "virtual adoption" fundraiser will have a chance to pet, hold and otherwise socialize with animals that they do not usually see on campus. For five dollars, they will have their picture taken with their favorite animal and receive emails updating them on the pet's health, likes and dislikes and if the pet gets adopted.

"Everyone's done ribbons and buttons," Brian Elbogen '07, one of FOHA's coordinators, said. "I was looking for something less standard that would allow the campus to give to a good cause. It allows Princeton students who might be missing their pets at home to have fun with an animal again for a day."

The group hopes to raise $1,500 to fund improvements to the Trenton Humane Society.

"What we saw on our weekly trips [to the Society] is what prompted us to organize this fundraiser," Elbogen said. "Trenton's a rough neighborhood and a lot of the animal shelters get neglected. The dog run in the back of the shelter is half of a dirty parking lot, with a trailer taking up half of the space, and the grassy areas are filthy and muddy."

Besides raising funds, FOHA organizes weekly trips to local animal shelters, where volunteers help feed and socialize the animals.

The group, which has about 10 to 15 active members, also assists with Trenton's Adoption Days, where volunteers help find adoption families in the local neighborhood. The fee for the permanent adoption of a dog is $60, while adopting a cat costs $45.

This week's fundraiser, however, will allow students to help pets without leaving campus, in spite of University rules prohibiting them from housing cats and dogs in dorms.

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According to the online student guide, the policy once allowed students to have pets that "humanely could be kept in a cage." Now, however, the only animals allowed in campus dorms are fish in tanks less than 10 gallons.