Thus began one of the "Dog Days," as they're formally called at Susquehanna University, along the banks of the Susquehanna River. Professors and other staffers brought their dogs to school for an hour of social interaction with students, especially freshmen, on Tuesdays during September.
The events, held in a grassy area outside the dining hall, are designed to help students overcome their homesickness - particularly the piece most painful for some: absence of the family pet.
Students can't pick up their phones and call Sparky.
Or text him.
Or e-mail him.
"The fact is that students miss their pets, sometimes more than they miss their families," said Anna Beth Payne, associate dean of student life and director of the school's counseling center.
"You, as parents, didn't sleep with them in the bed every night before they came away to college. The dog did," added Nikki Tobias, another staffer and owner of Chase and Cole, a Yorkshire terrier who wore an infant-size Chase Utley T-shirt (a Cole Hamels shirt wasn't available in his size).
Jackie Newell, 19, a freshman communications and Spanish major from Maine, said she misses Babe, her mutt.
"It's a close tie between the dog and my mom," she said with a smile.
Nine dogs showed up on this Tuesday, a typical turnout. Dozens of students stopped to play with them on their way into and out of dinner.
Bunsen, whose blog bunsensbark.blogspot.com features his exploits with ex-girlfriends, drew a crowd when his owner, journalism professor Judy Morris, placed a treat on his snout. She cautioned: "Wait. Wait. Wait." Then she pulled her hand away as Bunsen popped the treat into the air and caught it in his mouth.
But no one dog could steal the show for long.
An excited Gabbie Robbins, 18, a freshman English major from Bergen County, N.J., ran up to her friend: "He kisses," she said, pointing to Cole.
