Do your schools let you bring pets in? About This Page:

[ShellingConnie]

I thought ours did not until last week when I got an email from my DD12's teacher asking if I could bring Rocky cat in for half an hour today.

They are studying animals and she was hoping to get a few different animals for the kids to see. DD12 volunteered one of our cats (we have 2).

So after confirming that no one who would be in that classroom had allergies, I brought our cat to school.

He did really well. We told his adoption story, he charmed the kids and 3 teachers (2 dropped by the class after hearing there was a cat there) by letting them give him treats and pet him.
Then the kids asked to see me walk him so I put his harness on and attempted to walk him around the classroom. He was a typical cat and wanted no part of that so he kept flopping on the ground and not moving. He'd look at me and meow. It was funny.

Next week, one of the boys is having his Dad bring in their Iguana. That will be pretty cool for the kids.

So do your schools let you bring pets into the classrooms?

[Huntermom]

My kids are older so it has been a few years since they were in elementary school. When they were, it was not unusual for someone to bring a new pet in to share with their classmates and parents often had a dog on a leash when they picked a child up (kids had to be dismissed to a parent or put on a bus because we have no sidewalks.) They were also in school in the good old days when classrooms often had a small pet.

[Tonichelle]

Originally Posted by Huntermom

My kids are older so it has been a few years since they were in elementary school. When they were, it was not unusual for someone to bring a new pet in to share with their classmates and parents often had a dog on a leash when they picked a child up (kids had to be dismissed to a parent or put on a bus because we have no sidewalks.) They were also in school in the good old days when classrooms often had a small pet.

that sounds like how it was when I was in school... all the way through 5th grade we had pet week/month where we brought our pets in and researched the breed, training habits, etc. So much fun. Though in fifth grade my male pug Jordy peed on one of the class bullies (who actually fell in love with that dog, and became one of my good friends in jr high, go figure lol).

[Teresa]

DD's school does allow pets. It's very common for the classrooms to have everything from fish to rabbits. DD Lauren's 2nd grade teacher asked me, as room mom, to find and get a hedgehog for them. One of the local pet stores donated it, the cage, and all the food and bedding for the year. One of the kids eventually bought it from the store at the end of the year. Another class had a chinchilla.
We've taken in our dog, the kitten we found on the road a few years ago and the lizards. Other parents have been asked to bring hamsters, birds, snakes, etc.
The teachers always use it as a teaching tool. I think as long as there are no allergic children, it's a great idea!

[Ashli]

DS has not had pets come to his class that I am aware of, but I know that DNiece (who lives in the same county as us) had a day last year in her fifth grade class when they got people to bring in various pets. If I recall correctly though, they were all small animals that were in cages (snake, guinea pig, bird, etc.). I've never taken any of my pets IN to DS's school, but when we lived right by the school and walked there in the morning, I would often walk my bloodhound with us and go on a longer walk after we got to the school. Lots of the other kids who walked would come pet Anabelle. (I never walked her all the way up on to school property, just on the sidewalk by the school driveway where DS and I parted ways)