All Requests: Can I Have A Dog In Law School?

Christina asks whether she can take care of a dog while in law school.  This is an easy one.  Yes. 

Your law school years are full of free time.  You can run, you can take your dog for walks, you can meet friends for coffee.  You can have a part time job.  You're in class in the mornings, maybe until 2 PM.  You've got a lot of reading to do, but you can decide when to do that.  You can do that sitting on your sofa at home, with your dog on the floor in a patch of sunlight by your feet. 

I find it sad when people use law school as an excuse for constricting their lives.  "I can't be in a relationship -- I'm in law school."  That's silly -- I've written about it before.  That elevates the work associated with law school into a place of importance and primacy that it doesn't deserve.  There's work and stress in law school but there's time for it.  And it's not more important than all the other components of a happy life.  Having a dog, as I have already written, is a good way to learn how to be happy.  You'll need to exercise, too.  You'll need to have relationships and a creative outlet distinct from school.  Don't let law school or the craziness of your classmates convince you that somehow your status as a law student will make you too important or too rushed or too pressured to do the basic maintenance of your spirit that will keep you happy.  Law school isn't that hard.  Yes, there's a lot of reading.  And yes, comprehending that reading is very hard.  But it shouldn't swallow the rest of your life. 

Here's what you'll need to remember about having a dog.  You need to be steadily there for your dog.  Feed him or her at the same time every day.  Make time for exercise and play, training and reinforcement.  Can you do that?  Do you have a stable enough platform for your life to make that commitment?  Do you have friends or family, a support network who can step in if you need to be at an event until late and can't feed and let out the dog?  Could somebody take the dog for a weekend if you take a trip?  Are you in a place where your dog will get to be outside, daily, with you?  And look forward three or four years, when you're out of law school.  Can you commit to structuring a life where you'll still be able to take care of this dog -- a steady presence, exercise, play, and time outdoors -- after law school?  You don't have to know how you're going to do it, but I think if you take on the responsibility of having a dog you need to promise THAT you will do it. 

Good luck.  Please send me a picture of the dog you get, if you end up with one.  (Else, you can find yourself a friend with a dog and offer to give it lots of walks and love.)

Comments

[MT]

That nose, that fur, that hair
That sly won’t-catch-me stare
That draws me from my chair
It’s dogcraft

And I’ve got no defense for it
The urge is too intense for it
What good would common sense for it do?

’cause it’s dogcraft, doggone dogcraft
And although, I know, it’s strictly absurd

When you persuade me to agree
My heart says yes indeed in me
You're treating me as something to herd

There’s no real dialog
But this stick I won't hog
’cause I can’t keep this dog deferred

[jdz]

You can ABSOLUTELY have a dog in law school. We've had our dog for five months now (I'm a 2L) and I cannot IMAGINE not having her! Life is so much better with her around.

The most difficult thing for me has been figuring out how to deal with the summers, not school itself. I have an internship this summer that is about 45 minutes away, which means I will be gone for a huge chunk of the day. If you figure out how to handle these types of hurdles, how to deal with medical emergencies on a very limited income, etc, a dog in law school is no problem!

[PG]

Just to stop the italics.

[mj]

Go for it, Christina! I got my dog in early November of my 1L year and I can't imagine it any other way. Nice long dog-walks are the perfect way to distract myself from work or to digest a tricky piece of reading.

I also got married in October of that year. It really hadn't even occurred to me that law school was going to be much more demanding than a full-time job and it wasn't until a few people looked shocked when I told them that I was planning a wedding that would fall 6 weeks into the school year that I started to wonder if I was doing something really silly. I asked the woman who had encouraged me to go the law school route (who was also acting as the wedding officiant) if she thought I was nuts and she gave me a talk that was very similar to what Sherry just told you. If you buy into the whole concept that your time must be filled with law school thoughts all the time, you'll have a difficult three years. And I do think that we're indoctrinated into thinking that a lawyer's time is more important than anyone else's beginning in law school. That just makes it more important for me to have terrific pets, family & friends whose presence reminds me what a terrible concept that is.

It's important to have good "not law school stuff" in every day. I can think of nothing better that a cold dog nose. (Huh, I hope that doesn't refect poorly on the husband.)

[Ima Fake]

Law school is only hard to kids coming out of college and that is just because college is so easy. When you come to law school from work, it is a breeze. I had a stressful career which I worked at until the day law classes started. Instead of sixty hour work weeks, I pulled six hours a day, read cases until lunch Saturday and got the best school grades of my life. Studying law is easy; bite off little bits, read the cases out of the reporters instead of the edited snippets in the text book, and join an ultimate frisbee team to have a place to romp with the dog. Treat it like a job, do your work every day, and have fun.

[Christina]

Thanks Sherry and everyone else for your advice! I would really like to get a dog soon. I'll keep you posted! :)

[eliina]

I'm a 2L, and I've found that my dog Henry really helps me keep things in perspective. Yes, doing all of my reading in the library might be more efficient, but I'm a happier person when I do some of it at home with him next to me on the couch. And after a stressful day of reading, writing, interviews or exams, going home to a happy little being who just wants to play is really refreshing.

[Molly]

I know all these posts are really old now, but I just wanted to say how relieved I am to see them! I'm starting my 1L year this August and adopted a lab puppy a month ago. I firmly believe dogs make me a better and happier person and that I'll be able to manage both her care and the workload, and it's great to see that affirmed!

[Nick G]

Great post. I just received my LSAT score (171, woo hoo!) and my 6 month old lab gave me a big old smile. Can't imagine having to give him away, he's so sweet and amazingly well-behaved for his age and breed. I'm applying in Colorado, Vermont, and Oregon among other places (going for top environmental law programs) so he should have a blast these next few years. Thanks for the insight!

[renee]

Hi - we're getting a puppy in 2 weeks - i'm starting law school in 6.5 weeks and my fiance will be a 2L - we're both very excited to be sharing this responsibility together. Our families are very unsupportive of us adopting this animal - but he is truly a sweetheart and i'm hoping that as they see how much fun and happiness he brings us they too will love him.

Here's to hoping....

[Lauren]

Reading the above post was so refreshing. I'm in the process of adopting a dog while entering my second semester as a 1L. My family is not supportive with respect to this decision because of law school and reading this post affirmed my decision to adopt. Thank you very much, the eloquent way in which you described the importance of having "a life" outside of law school helps me to deal better with my family.

[New Balance Shoes]

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