When Bailey Phoenix ’24 entered her second year at Brown University, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. “It was very difficult,” they said. “I started having a hard time.”
At home, my dog, Winter, was there for me when I was in trouble. “She licked my face and did everything to distract me,” Phoenix said. They added that winter is “interrelated with my mental and physical health” and even attends Phoenix sessions with a therapist.
Phoenix and winter.
As the fall of his sophomore year approached and things still didn't seem to get better, Phoenix considered a possible solution. That was to bring Winter to Brown. After spring break that year, Winter was finally approved and able to come to Brown.
Since then, Phoenix's time at Brown has gotten “a lot better.” The two have a “symbiotic relationship,” Phoenix told the Herald.
“On days I don't want to wake up, I have to take my dog outside,” Phoenix said. “I have her medicine, and she has her medicine. . . . I won't make her suffer.”
Despite being 13, Winter is still “very active for her age” and loves making human friends, but is “disdainful” of other dogs, Phoenix said. Ta. During Phoenix's interview with the Herald, when a dog three times his size came over to say hello, Winter indifferently retreated to his go-to bed for a nap.
During a walk together around the main green, Phoenix said Winter loves being the center of attention, which encourages Phoenix to be sociable. “She’s everyone’s rock,” Phoenix said.
For many students at Brown University, pets help relieve academic and personal stress. After Noah Urrutia ’25 completed his freshman year, he decided to adopt his cat, Merlin, who, like his wizard namesake, is a “quirky, curious man.” Urrutia registered Merlin with SAS as an emotional support animal at the beginning of her sophomore year, and the two have shared Urrutia's dormitory ever since.
Ultear holding Merlin.
“I couldn’t imagine being at university without him,” Urrutia said. “It's always nice to walk back (to your dorm) and see someone who's happy to see you.”
Merlin, a “very, very smart” and “well-behaved” cat who prefers to stay indoors, howled in protest when it started raining during an outdoor interview. But Urrutia still takes him outside for walks once a week.
Ultear tries to make Merlin walk.
“When he's not in the bag, I put him on my shoulder and he just sits there like a parrot,” Urrutia said.
Urrutia said she wishes more students knew they could bring their pets to Brown. For both Urrutia and Phoenix, that process includes obtaining a letter from a psychologist confirming that they would benefit from an emotional support animal, and then having to fill out a disability certification and SAS accommodation form. had.
“I think for a lot of people who have issues like anxiety, loneliness, homesickness, this is a really good way to feel connected to home,” Urrutia told the Herald.
For students who don't need emotional support, off-campus housing makes it easier to bring their pets to Brown. Richard Grebocki '24 and his girlfriend care for a one-year-old pug terrier mix named Phoenix (which Grebocki suspects is really a pugstaff) in their apartment.
While caring for dogs over the summer, Glebocki and his girlfriend “fell in love” with the idea of adopting a dog of their own, he said. This winter break, they visited the Providence Animal Rescue League and discovered Phoenix. The results were “astounding.”
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Glebocki and Phoenix
By walking around the main green, both Glebocki and Phoenix “made a lot of friends,” Glebocki told the Herald.
“Being brown and being a dog, it's very, very social,” he added. “Human friends and canine friends alike, it's that easy.” Phoenix, who has a habit of licking my hand as I type interview notes, is “loved across campus.”
While walking around campus with Phoenix, Glebocki told the Herald that she loves seeing people's reactions to her. “You see people's faces go from being very focused and focused to instantly light up,” Glebocki said.
However, some students cannot live off campus or register for a service animal. Nathan Swidler ’24 found an unlikely solution. That's walking President Christina Paxson's dog (P'19 P'MD'20).
Swidler is the official dog walker for Cooper, the Paxson family's poodle. “I have to say[his name]in an American accent, otherwise he won't respond,” said Swidler, who is from London.
As a freshman, Swidler took Paxson's “Economics of Higher Education'' class, which included a dinner after the seminar. Fortunately, during a “bathroom break,” Swidler ran into Paxson's husband, who was sitting with Cooper. As it happened, they were looking for someone to walk him.
Swidler had no experience walking dogs. “But when I looked up how to walk a dog and asked some friends how to do it, they basically said it's pretty easy,” he says.
For the past three years, Swidler and Cooper have been walking together around the main and quiet greens every other week. “I really love when people come up to me and ask if they can pet them,” Swidler said. “It’s a very fulfilling day and you get to meet lots of new people.”
Ms. Swidler said she was grateful for the opportunity to be closer to Ms. Paxson and her husband. “It humanizes the often pedestal image of the president,” he says. “She's a common woman, she owns a dog, and she walks her students.''
Cooper's favorite snack is a Blue Room sandwich. “Every time I see it, I salivate,” Swidler said. Winter similarly likes the good food in the cafeteria, especially the bacon at the Ivy Room. Glebock's pug terrier Phoenix and Urrutia's cat Merlin are both happy with more classic pet treats, enjoying fake rawhide bones and Actinidia, respectively.
Swidler is currently looking for someone to work as a dog walker after graduation. “There's no next wave,” Swidler said. “We would be happy to respond to any interest.”
Maya Nelson is a senior staff writer covering undergraduate student life. She is interested in studying English or literature, and in her free time she loves reading anything science fiction/fantasy. She also enjoys playing guitar, crocheting, and spending countless hours on the NYT Spelling Bee.
