Let’s turn the clock forward to next week.

Finals are over. Your parents have pulled up with a trailer to gut out your house and take you and your possessions home.

You didn’t forget anything, did you?

You’ve loaded up box after box full of various possessions, from CDs to books, assured you hadn’t left anything behind.

But what about that puppy chained up in the back yard?

You love that puppy, right? You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to it, would you?

So why leave it behind?

Although it isn’t quite a crisis in Charleston, pet abandonment is a real issue that affects animals that were at one point cared for by some student who couldn’t take the pet with them.

Some students with pets seem to think after school, it’s time to start over; it’s time to get rid of everything from the college years.

Books, notes and even futons routinely bite the dust at the end of the spring semester, and sometimes pets are left behind with the twisted remains of the former foldout.

What causes this?

Do students’ parents not allow pets in their homes?

Has the student run out of money or patience with the pet?

Has the student simply underestimated the responsibility involved with taking care of a pet?

If the student cannot fully grasp the responsibility behind taking care of a pet, why even have one in the first place?

This isn’t just another piece of shoddy furniture you leave on the side of the road. This is a living thing that needs care and attention.

If a student’s parents won’t allow pets in the house, or if the student decides the pet can no longer be cared for after college for whatever reason, the student shouldn’t have even had a pet in the first place.

If you find yourself in this position when moving out, consider giving the dog to a new home where it will be cared for properly instead of just leaving it behind and expecting it to work out on its own.

With fall semester comes a rise in the number of off-campus students with pets.

If you are one of them, please consider the responsibility that comes with caring for the animal, going beyond college.

The editorial is the majority opinion of The DEN editorial board. Reach the opinions editor at: .