College students have the toughest jobs, balancing school, new and old friends, extracurricular activities, and part time jobs all while trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up. Not all students leave home when they go to school but for those who do, leaving behind your pet is the hardest part. Sure, it’s scary to navigate a new campus, make new friends, and adjust to a new schedule, but it’s even scarier to do all that without your best friend.

It’s been scientifically proven that stress is reduced when your pet is around. And it’s also well known that college students are some of the most stressed out people around. It doesn’t make sense that we should be deprived of the greatest source of relief from stress.

Not only do pups, kitties, and other friends provide stress relief, they are also your most trusted companions. Secrets are safe and embarrassing stories never revealed (or maybe just not understood).

If you have an especially strong bond (or a dog) then you are lucky enough to have someone who is always happy to see you. Your hair could be a mess, your shirt stained, your day ruined, until you walk into the door and they knock you over with love.

The hardest part of coming and going is once they start to realize that carrying giant bags into the car means another separation. Their attempts to sneak into the luggage never work, though you wish you could take them.

Any other long-distance relationship just doesn't seem as bad.