PAC’s “Adopt-A-Pet” Event Brings Out Pet Lovers Across UWM

Elizabeth Maier is a freshman from outside Madison, WI. She lives on a farm with her family, seven cats, and one dog. Being away from home for school makes her miss one specific cat from home.

His name is Chester and he’s a small black and white colored outdoor cat. He’s very unbothered by the six other cats on the farm, according to Maier, and has the best personality out of all of them. He can have a little bit of an attitude at times, but he’s always down for cuddling, which Maier loves.

“Chester’s my favorite,” Maier said without any hesitation. “I really love his willingness to cuddle.”

Missing her furry best friend from back home is how Maier ended up at a special pet-oriented event in one of the dorm buildings at UW-Milwaukee.

The Panther Academic Committee (PAC) hosted an “Adopt-A-Pet” (stuffed pet, that is) event for Sandburg Hall residents in early October that sold out within minutes of the event starting.

“We do it because you can’t really have your dog or other pets in the dorm,” said PAC President Madison Clausing.

The event saw over 150 UWM students in attendance. Students were provided with an empty stuffed animal of their choice and then given the stuffing for them to “build” their animal. Attendees then sewed them up and took them home.

The event has become an annual thing at Sandburg Hall, and the purpose of it is one that resonates with many students. With the tagline of “Miss your pet at home? Come ‘adopt’ one!”, the event is intended for students who may be missing their furry friend.

And that rule certainly was one of the reasons for so many students attending the event.

Payton Bachochin, UWM sophomore and vice president of PAC, also was in need of a stuffed reminder for her cat at home. Her cat is named Murphy. He doesn’t really resemble the cat she made; however, for Bachochin, it doesn’t really bother her. Just having a stuffed cat is enough for her.

“I have one cat I miss dearly,” Bachochin said. “Just having some kind of cat stimulate really helps.”

Cat owners weren’t the only ones among the attendees. Dog owners also came out to make something for their furry friends back home.

Maddy Contreras-Perrin, a UWM freshman, has a puppy back home that’s hard to be away from. The puppy is an energetic one, according to Contreras-Perrin, who likes to run around 5 miles with her dad every day.

Finding it difficult to be away from her puppy for the first time ever, Contreras-Perrin attended “Adopt-A-Pet” in hopes of making a stuffed animal to comfort her.

But, due to overwhelming demand, Contreras-Perrin walked away with just an unstuffed bunny. It seemed disappointing at first, but she made the best of the situation by stuffing her bunny shell with toilet paper. She was pretty content with it. She thinks it’ll at least be a nice reminder of the event and getting to spend time with her friends.

“I’ll just keep it on my bed,” Contreras-Perrin said. “It’s still a cute memory.”

Contreras-Perrin’s friend and fellow UWM freshman Kylie Windsor was also forced to walk away with a bunny instead of a stuffed dog but wasn’t too disappointed with it either.

Windsor is the owner of a sassy and talkative 3-year-old cockapoo. She goes home often so she’s never away from her only dog for very long. She mainly came out to the event because the poster caught her eye and she figured she needed to get out of her dorm and away from homework. The event, to her, was more time to spend with friends and she’s pretty happy with the souvenir she takes away from it.

“It’s a keepsake,” Windsor said about her unstuffed bunny. “This was more like something to just do with friends.”

“Adopt-A-Pet” was also enjoyed by students who don’t have any pets at home.

In Clausing’s case, she enjoys the event just because she loves stuffed animals.

This year, Clausing made herself a rainbow-colored dog that is yet to be officially named. It was the “funky” animal offered this year. The event throws in one wild-card animal each year for fun.

Clausing also discussed how she enjoys the nostalgia that comes from an event like this and its appeal to the students. She thinks this event not only helps students cope with leaving their pets but also gives them a little comfort for being away from home.

“It’s the time for when people need something to remind them of home,” Clausing said.