Do you want someone to snuggle up with during the cold winter nights to come? Would you like that someone to nibble on your ear? Or even lick your face?

If you answered yes to all three questions, one option might be to try calling a dating service. But many students at Harvard have opted for a fuzzier alternative.

Although University policy strictly prohibits students from keeping animals, birds or reptiles in College dorms, a number of students interviewed this week said they had decided to risk the wrath of Harvard rather than forsake their furry companions.

Each year, a resourceful few manage to escape discovery. But other undergraduate pet owners say they have not been so lucky.

Sarah Sidman '93 said she had brought a Cairn terrier named Pipi to her room in Dunster House this year--only to have it barred from the dorm by a rule-conscious superintendent.

"The minute [Pipi] got here, she ran into the superintendent's office," Sidman explained. "Later when I walked her, she ran up to the [superintendent] and jumped on his legs."

"All the [superintendent] said was to get the dog out of here as soon as possible," Sidman said.

Sidman said she had not purposely set out to defy Harvard regulations, but that she had no choice. "My mom has been traveling, and the hotels wouldn't keep Pipi," Sidman explained, adding that the terrier now resides with friends in the Boston area.

Like Sidman, many students said that Harvard's inflexibility on the subject of pets has left them confused and upset.

"It is cruel and unusual punishment not to allow us to have animals," said one Adams House junior, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Animals have always been a part of my life...[they are a] great therapy."

The junior said that she and her three room-mates in Adams House have circumvented College rules to house a pet rabbit named Lobster in their room since the beginning of the year.

"Lobster is a cheery face to come home to," the junior said. "And she never complains about homework."

A junior in Lowell House said the combined cooperation of her room-mates and the house superintendent made it possible for her to keep a four-month-old Siamese cat named "C.P."--short for "Cuteness Personified."

"My roommate called ahead to see if it was all right. The [superintendent] didn't really seem to mind," the junior said. "If you want a pet at Harvard, you can keep it," she said.

The junior added that although the "no pets allowed" rule has added an element of risk to her daily life, she is glad that the rule is on the books.