This weekend the “My Life as a Dog Challenge” began at the Central Oklahoma Humane Society in Oklahoma City.

Click here to read The Daily's Kathleen Evan's coverage of "My Life as a Dog Challenge"

For the challenge, contestants are chained to doghouses to make people more aware of the consequences of chaining up dogs.

This got us thinking. In college, many students decide they want to own a pet.

Many students who grew up with pets have moved away from home to go to school, and purchasing pets of their own seems like a good way to fill the void their childhood pets once filled.

We are not saying this is a bad thing, but we want to encourage students thinking about getting a pet to fully consider how much of a responsibility taking care of an animal can be.

Pets can be relatively large financial burdens. Pet owners must pay for food, medication and potential visits to the veterinarian, including the costs of spaying and neutering.

And we all know most college students do not have bloated bank accounts.

Pets also can be burdens on the schedules of their owners. They need someone to play with them and show them affection every day, and many cannot be left alone when their owners have to go to class.

An amicable alternative to actually buying a pet is for busy students to volunteer at a local pet shelter or participate in a program that allows people to baby sit and play with an animal for a day.

For example, Norman’s Second Chance Animal Sanctuary, Inc., encourages people to volunteer there by spending time with some of the shelter’s animals. For more information on volunteering, visit secondchancenorman.org or call 405-321-1915.

We are not discouraging responsible students from getting pets, but if you adopt or purchase an animal, remember: You have to take care of it, too.