On Nov. 1, President Tania Tetlow and Dean Maura Mast brought their dogs to the Rose Hill campus for a fun morning filled with smiles, petting and picture taking. After a “ruff” few weeks of midterms, everyone was in need of a stress-free event, and who doesn’t love petting a dog?
Reigning in over 1,000 followers on his Instagram account @archietetlow, Archie already had loads of fans before stepping onto campus. Although President Tetlow herself was not there, Archie was left in the care of two Louisiana native Fordham students. The event consisted of Archie and Pumpkin on leashes held by the two students, while students were encouraged to pet them and take photos as they walked by.
Although administration did not specifically state the reason for the two dogs coming to campus, the timing lined up with the end of midterms, and many students speculated that was part of the reason they came when they did. “It was nice of the administrators to give some love to students going through midterms. It was also a fun way to celebrate dogs being allowed on campus,” said Mackenzie Noonan, FCRH ’25. Other students commented on dogs now being allowed on campus, as the Fordham University Handbook states, “Students, faculty, staff, and guests are permitted to have dogs in outdoor public spaces provided that they meet certain requirements.”
“We 100% want dogs on campus, the more dogs the better,” said Gabrielle Diaz, FCRH ’27.
As the Rose Hill community came over to interact with dogs, Archie and Pumpkin were overjoyed to meet everyone, but not necessarily each other. I noticed right away Archie and Pumpkin were separated by about 50 feet, the reason being when they were too close to each other, things were quick to get “catty.” “Pumpkin is just more of a people-dog,” commented Mast. Nothing got crazy or out of hand in any way. There was some occasional barking from each party when they would realize the other was also there, but once thoroughly separated, they were fabulous at co-existing on Eddie’s.
They were smiling, sitting still and happily accepted the love they were receiving from everyone. Some dogs get nervous around new people, but not these two — they are easily the most friendly dogs I have encountered. You seriously would have thought they had media training.
There were a few distractions that caused some barking from Archie, such as the leaves getting swept up in the wind and the classic black squirrels that roamed campus, but he was quick to get back on track and pose pretty in photos with the students.
Overall, both dogs receive an A for sitting when told and biting a total of zero students. Everyone loves the opportunity to pet a dog, and this event definitely showed a fun side of Tetlow and Mast. Bringing the dogs to campus was a success, and the people want more from Archie and his pals!
