Calling all Obie pet owners! Oberlin Athletics’ new club is looking for all Oberlin Athletics supporters and their pets to join the Oberlin Pet Club.
The club holds space for a community of pet lovers and sports fans who share a love for their animals and the Crimson and Gold. As stated on their website, the club believes that pets and athletics are both about “excitement, playfulness, and a drive for adventure.”
Assistant Director of Athletics Communications and Digital Media Strategist Amanda Phillips was the leading force in the new club. Phillips sat down with Natalie Winkelfoos, Oberlin’s associate vice president for athletics advancement and Delta Lodge director of Athletics & Physical Education, and Creg Jantz, the senior associate director of Athletics, in January 2023 to consider how the club would operate.
It took the team just a few months to put all their ideas into action, and the Oberlin Pet Club became official in the spring of 2023.
Membership is open to all members of the Oberlin community, including students, residents, alumni, faculty, staff, and family. Members who register their pets will receive free Oberlin bandanas. There is no cost to join the club, and club events are also free.
Admissions counselor and women’s lacrosse alum Leah Crowther, OC ’21, who oversees California and Minnesota in admissions, is also helping to pioneer the club.
“The purpose is broadly to create community,” Crowther said. “Because the club is open to students, staff, and Oberlin residents, the idea is to make opportunities to meet new people and encourage maybe some new faces to come to Athletics events. Few of us are immune to the lure of a puppy party.”
Upon graduating, Crowther applied to become an admissions counselor for Oberlin because she wanted to share her love and pride of Oberlin with others, especially prospective students. Crowther also adopted Dolly, a long-haired miniature dachshund. Now three years old, Dolly is the face of the Oberlin Pet Club.
“I like to think I got involved because of Dolly’s sparkling reputations,” Crowther said, “But truthfully I am friends with Amanda and she approached me with the idea. Dolly loves people and pets so we both knew she would be a great club member.”
Dolly’s “petfluencer” counterpart is Ziggy, an orange tabby cat who is a member of Michael and Lillian McFarlin’s family. Michael currently works in Mary Church Terrell Main Library and his daughter Lillian is a third-year on the women’s track and field team.
Phillips is hoping people register a variety of pets, from dogs and cats to bearded dragons and fish.
“We want [the club] to be all-inclusive. We want to see pets of all kinds,” Phillips said. “We’ve got goats in there, we want to see bearded dragons, we want to see your birds, we want to see your pigs, your non-traditional pets.”
For more information on the Oberlin Pet Club, visit goyeo.com/ oberlinpetclub or email Amanda Phillips at [email protected].
