While many Penn State students decide to take on the responsibility of owning a pet, it can be a challenge to decide how to take care of pets over breaks or after graduation.

When leaving for break, some students leave their pets in kennels.

"Over the holidays, it's really difficult to travel with a dog. It's more relaxing for a person to leave a dog in a kennel," said Jeannie Grove, owner of Penns Valley Kennels. People also know their pets will be well taken care of in kennels, as opposed to leaving them with friends, Grove said.

It is very common for a friend to agree to take care of a pet and then cancel at the last minute, she said. Some end up calling a kennel partway through vacation because it is too much work for them, she added.

In a kennel, owners also know their pets will be walked regularly, given necessary attention, and fed according to their specifications, Grove said. However, not all animals should stay in kennels, she added.

"I would tell people to have someone go to their house if they know their dog doesn't do well in a kennel," she said.

Other students take their pets home with them, saying traveling with them is not a problem.

Christian Sakoian (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies) takes his ferret, Derby, home with him during school breaks. "It's really not a problem to travel with her. She has a little travel cage," Sakoian said.

Another concern for students with pets is what to do with them after graduating, if they cannot move with the pets. Many students take their pets to animal shelters to give them up for adoption, said Troy Klinefelter, a kennel attendant at the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Centre Hall.

Shelters cannot guarantee how long they will keep animals before they are either adopted or euthanized, Klinefelter said. There is no time limit for an animal's stay at the shelter, he added.

"As long as we have room, we keep all of the animals," Klinefelter said.

Bringing an unwanted pet to the humane society or shelter is the best thing an owner can do, he added.