 [Rana Molana, Claudia Trahan, Alexandra Milin/The Daily Pennsylvanian] Lebowski (left), the official dog of Phi Kappa Psi, helps sell tickets to his fraternity's annual charity show on Locust Walk. Phi Sigma Kappa's turtle Dylan and Phi Delta Theta's dog Tux are among a growing number of pets kept by Penn fraternities despite risks of property damage. | |
Tux, who joined Phi Delt in 2002, is not the first resident canine in the fraternity house. He joins Murphy, Kodiac and Paquale in a long tradition of Phi Delt dogs that dates back to at least the late 1970s.
And if Tux ever gets bored of fraternity brothers constantly vying for his attention, there are always the dogs of almost half a dozen other fraternities -- including Alpha Tau Omega, Phi Kappa Psi and Delta Phi -- to play with him.
Of course not everyone is so enamoured of the four-legged friends
Though these dogs attract much affection on campus -- McClelland says Tux "loves to flirt" -- national fraternity leaders are more ambivalent.
"We do feel there is some element of risk" to fraternities owning dogs, said Kathy Johnston, national director of risk management for Sigma Phi Epsilon. She cited potential neglect problems and said that students may not have time to care for a dog.
[...]
The major insurer of Penn's fraternity houses, Hilb Rogal & Hobbs/Kirklin & Co. -- which insures 21 out of the 29 houses on campus -- allows pets in the houses but does not recommend it.
Managing Director Ned Kirklin said, "In general, we don't have a specific policy. But if a chapter was to contact us asking for a recommendation, we would discourage having dogs or cats in the chapter."
Every party needs a pooper, I suppose.
dailypennsylvanian.com - Penn's real 'Animal Houses'
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