Brewster says he has even added Whitney's role in the office to the official list of job descriptions.

According to the report, Whitney "serves as general lobby entertainment, and assists in stress relief and counseling for students and staff. Directs daily nutritional control survey by vising each office on a regular basis to sample tidbits from various lunches and/or snacks. Sits. Shakes. Rolls over. Wags tail."

Mr. Ellison says Jasper enjoys watching television, especially when he sees other dogs. "If it has a dog barking in it, he loves it," she says. "His favorite movie is Home ward Bound."

Mr. Ellison also says dogs at Harvard live a comparatively easy lifestyle compared to dogs he raised while growing up. "The life of a dog at Harvard is not bad," he says.

Unlike most students, Jasper gets a full eight to ten hours of sleep each night. Middleton said Chelsea enjoys watching anything with horses. "She likes anything with horses, for example, the rodeo on Wide World of Sports, "he says. "When the horses ended, she walked away."

Pedelty says her dog Calla enjoys eating sugar cookies from the Union and listening to the Cowboy Junkies.

"Besides dog food, occasionally she eats a union sugar cookie," Pedelty says. "She watch no television, but she likes jazz and blues and loves the Cowbody Junkies. I leave it on for her when I go."

Many of the dog owners say that raising their dogs at Harvard has made their dogs more intelligent.

Ms. Ellison says Jasper is a naturally smart dog, but being at Harvard has made him smarter. "Absolutely Harvard has made Jasper more intelligent," she says, "but he hasn't been to any classes. He goes to my office in William James [Hall], though."

Dr. Vincent L. Cyrus 83, a resident tutor in Matter House, says he studies with his dog "Chet is definitely more intellectual," Cyrus says. "There are no secrets with our dog."

Middleton says his canine companion "listens to National Public Radio and gets to sit in some interesting dorm conversations."

But Christina S. Griffith, assistant dean of first-year students, says the outdoors, not Harvard, has helped her pet most.

"He learned everything there is to know outside in the grass with the squirrels and the pigeons," she says.