These days, college students have little money and even less time. Juggling school, work, family, and friends is enough to drive a person crazy. Adding a pet to that equation can spell disaster. However, with preparation and dedication, young people can take care of their pets without having to abandon them. It’s not all about fun like Paris Hilton carrying her Chihuahua Tinkerbell in her purse.

Rhonda Livesay, the operations manager at Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, OR, said it all starts with preparation and education.

“People need to educate themselves about what actually goes into adopting or owning a pet,” Livesay said. “It’s important to understand the responsibility of pet ownership.”

The shelter offers free, one-hour classes every other month to help potential pet owners prepare for the responsibilities of adoption. Other shelters provide similar services. Livesay also said to check out online articles from the US Humane Society and various specials on Animal Planet.

“There’s a lot of information out there, so it’s about how a person best learns,” Livesay said. She also recommended training classes.

Nancy Kendall, the manager at Mini Pet Mart in Eugene, OR, agreed that training pets is important. “Animals get into stuff,” Kendall said. “They need some training.”

“People will get a dog and not train the dog or socialize it,” Livesay said. She added that this causes problems because animals get unruly and then the owners abandon them. With basic training classes that teach dogs not to jump or bite, this can be avoided.

“When a dog behaves, you want to keep [it],” Livesay said. For those that wish to avoid the cost and formal setting of classes, Livesay added that training books such as How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With by Clarice Rutherford and David H. Neil can be helpful.

Teila Olsen, 22, owns two cats and works an average of 35 hours per week. Providing her cats with good food is a priority for Olsen.

“It’s not cheap to have animals if you want them to have decent stuff,” Olsen said. “I make sure they get decent food.”

One of the things she looks for is making sure the first ingredient is real meat and not a byproduct.

Kendall agreed that nutrition is important and spending money on higher quality food is worth it.

“You want to be buying quality food,” Kendall said. “When you have to take a cat to the vet because you fed it crappy food you end up spending more money.”

That’s not to say that good food can’t be bought with little money. Mini Pet Mart offers some marked-down items where the quality of the food is still good but the packaging may be a bit damaged. The store also features bulk bins where the food is repacked to create more bang for the buck.

For those not ready to make the full commitment to pet ownership, foster care provides the perfect venue for college students who don’t have enough time but would still like to form a bond with animals.

At Greenhill (in Eugene), puppies and kittens who aren’t yet vaccinated are offered in the foster care program. Applicants typically take the animals home for one to three weeks after a training session. The animals get the socialization they need and the people get to see if owning a pet full time is right for them.

“It’s a wonderful thing for college students,” Livesay said.

Kendall agreed on the importance of foster care. “There’s a need for foster homes for permanent care,” she said.

Olsen added that it is a good idea because students don’t have to make the full commitment. “College kids get animals because they are cute and leave them here over the summer.”

They all agreed that spending time with and loving the animals is important.

“You should figure at least a 10 year commitment,” Olsen said.

“Consider them family members,” Kendall said. “Don’t throw your animals away.”