Pizza and puppies are two globally loved things, which R.A. Dan Ziebarth had in mind when designing a recent event for his residents. As a result, on October 11th, Drew Hall experienced one of its most attended events of the year.

Residents from every floor crammed into the Drew Hall 3rd floor lounge to pet Ellie, a husky puppy owned by Ron Rodriguez. In the corner of the room, there was Toppers Pizza available as well.

“Ellie’s about seven months old,” said Ron, the husky’s owner. “She’s very well behaved and just absolutely loves attention.”

Ellie proved this as she trotted around the room, eager to receive attention from all of the students in the lounge. Every student had the biggest smile on their faces, and a strong sense of community was felt throughout the room, centered around the dog.

“The dog was just so cute!” said Karin Oberreiter, a third-year in Drew. “She looked so happy the whole time and was so soft. I couldn’t stop smiling!”

Many of the other residents in attendance seemed to be feeling the same way. Eventually, the lounge got so full that there were students in the hallway, looking through the windows to see the puppy.

When Ellie was let outside on a bathroom break, a line of residents followed along, with many other remaining in wait for the dog’s return. Students were smiling and laughing with one another, heavily deepening the sense of community in Drew.

“I really didn’t expect this event to be this popular,”said Ziebarth, the R.A. who hosted the Pizza and a Puppy event. “I was half-expecting just a few students to show up for about a half hour or so. I didn’t think that it would be this crazy. If I had known, I would have bought more pizzas!”

The only negative remark most attendees had on the event, in fact, was the small amount of pizza. Due to the expected low attendance, only three pizzas were bought for the event, and they were all gone within the first 30 minutes.

Despite the lack of pizza, students were overjoyed with the event. There didn’t seem to be a single resident who left unhappy. Any unhappiness from attendees only seemed to come as a result of leaving Ellie.

“After seeing how popular this event was, I definitely plan to have a few more throughout the year,” Ziebarth said. “Ron seemed excited to bring Ellie onto campus, so I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t host another event like this. I just need to make sure I get more pizzas next time.”