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Nothing pairs better with warm weather than a cute dog on campus. It seems like these furry friends are everywhere these days. They’re romping around the Quad, passing us on our walks to class and making appearances at weekend events. During finals week, golden retrievers Ben and Tucker will be back for Dog Finals, a stress-relief event that entails covering yourself in happiness and dog kisses. The fact that QU is full of dog lovers comes as no surprise. All Pets Club in Wallingford is always a popular destination, but now it seems like All Pets Club has come to us.

Although Sleeping Giant State Park isn’t Quinnipiac property, I think it’s safe to say that it’s just as iconic as any other part of our campus. Therefore, the dogs we see on our hikes count, too. I had the pleasure of meeting a 4-month-old black lab named Oz a couple of weeks ago, and his floppy paws scrambling across the rocky mountaintop made my day. I also got nearly knocked over by a golden retriever, which was also a very pleasant encounter. If a person knocked into me like that, we’d have a problem, but since it was a cute dog, all was forgiven.

Time for a personal confession. Until recently, I didn’t like dogs very much. Crazy, I know. In my defense, I had some bad moments with dogs in the past. One once pinned me against a wall when I was five. But don’t worry, I’m not scared anymore. I’m still definitely a cat person, but like everyone else, I get excited every time I see a cute dog, and I usually will pet them and talk to them as if they were my own.  I’ll say hi to the dog but not their people. If that’s wrong, I don’t want to be right. – J. Cibelli