As students are finalizing apartment leases for next year, some may be overlooking one small, furry detail — their pets.

Although most students decide to leave their pets at home, those who do bring animals to their college apartments may not be aware of how rules and regulations against animals will affect them and their living arrangements.

If caught, students could be faced with fines and the problem of finding a new home for their animals.

According to Kristen Holzwarth, a property manager for Associated Realty, the fines are written into leasing contracts to encourage students not to have animals in their apartments in the first place.

"It's $50 per day and it's meant as a deterrent, not as a way for the landlords to get rich," Holzwarth said.

Holzwarth also said the no-pets policy applies to all kinds of pets, not just cats and dogs.

"It's hard to allow a pet, or a goldfish or a bird . . . it's just better off to say 'no pets,' " she said.

Students who are caught with pets against the terms of their leases could also have to pay apartment extermination costs, according to a copy of the Associated Realty leasing contract.

Where should students take animals they can no longer keep in their apartments? Troy Klinefelter, a kennel attendant for the Centre Hall Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals on Rt. 322, has some ideas.

"I would suggest bringing them here," Klinefelter said of the SPCA. "I wouldn't give them to a stranger.

"College students bring animals in every now and again, but it's mainly residents," he said.

Klinefelter said the shelter is currently caring for 48 animals without homes, but can hold up to about 100 animals when necessary.

He also said animals will not be euthanized if they are not adopted within a certain time period and they will instead remain at the shelter as long as there is room.

Students might not know there are also living options available for those who do not want to part with their pets.

For an additional monthly fee, students can have pets at some apartment buildings, such as Park Forest Apartments, 901-E W. Aaron Dr.

Laurie Swanger, property manager of Park Forest Apartments, said many tenants take advantage of this option.

"We get a lot of people who want to come here because they want to have their pets," Swanger said.

"It makes Park Forest more marketable," she added.

Additional monthly fees to have a pet in these apartments are $20 for a cat and $25 for a dog, with a refundable $200 security deposit at the beginning of the lease.