Pet Companionship Among International Students in the U.S.: Motivations and Challenges

Over one million international students from 207 countries study in the United States to pursue their academic goals. Transitioning to an unfamiliar country presents numerous challenges, and existing support structures often fail to fully support international students. Pet companionship may support students in alleviating homesickness and enhancing mental well-being. However, there is a lack of research exploring the experience of international students in the U.S. living with pets and what unique barriers they face. This quantitative survey recruited 662 international students to explore why they may or may not choose to live with pets while they are in the U.S. and the challenges they face regarding having pets while studying abroad. Participants reported barriers such as financial and housing restrictions, as well as concerns about pet care during travel or vacations and uncertainty about their future plans, which deter them from committing to long-term pet ownership. However, most of the participants who had experience living with pets or planned to have a pet believed that the benefits of having a pet outweighed the challenges. More than 60% of the participants were committed to keeping their pets permanently, even if they needed to move back to their home country or to another foreign country. While results are limited to a non-representative sample of international students, this research provides insights that may inform how to enrich support systems for both international students and animal welfare by highlighting the unique challenges and benefits of human-animal interactions for international students.