MELISSA HALTERMAN/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA voice professor Faye Robinson sings with her Chihuaha, Kristina, Monday afternoon.

We've all seen it happen. Sweaters are frequently knitted, multiple birthday presents are purchased and specialty food is the norm.

Yes, owners can get too attached to their pets.

David Soren, regents professor in the classics department, and Faye Robinson, voice professor, have taken their pet attachment to a new extreme. They've taken it to class.

Kristina, Robinson's Chihuahua, has a perfect attendance record at the UA over the last five years, Robinson said.

"Where I'm going she can go," said Robinson. "She goes to the movies, graduations, funerals. She pretty much does everything. Ninety-nine percent of the time, she's with me."

Soren, on the other hand, has been bringing pets to class for over 20 years.

"I was a workaholic, I was suffering from high blood pressure and I was sent to see a stress doctor, and they were trying to figure out how to slow me down," said Soren. "They said don't let the dog leave your side."

So far, it's worked out fairly well for Soren.

"I think it probably saved my life," he said. "It just takes all the pressure away. ... You're working very hard on something and you think it's really important. My dog will nudge me and take me outside and teach me that I need to look at a fire hydrant for five minutes."

Soren got Angel about eight years ago, after his previous dog, Digger, passed away. He said the first few days with a dog at school are the toughest since his dogs must be trained not to disrupt class.

"The first couple weeks when you're training a new dog are quite a nightmare," he said. "(Angel) is a retriever, so one time she brought me $16 in class. She brought up someone's coin purse and a couple other things I can't even mention."

But negative experiences like these are rare, and students usually benefit from the pets being around. Kristina will even get up on a chair and sing with students if she approves of their voices, Robinson said.

"(Kristina is) kind of a comic relief for the kids," Robinson said. "I teach one-on-one, so sometimes it can get a little intense so she breaks that barrier down."

While Soren has a doctor's note explaining the use of his dog, Robinson hasn't tried to get permission to bring her dog, which could conveniently hide in a bag if needed.

"I'm not so sure it's a legal thing, but she comes every day. And everybody in the school including the dean is aware that she's here," said Robinson. "I suppose I could bring her on Daughter's Day. She's legit that one day of the year."

The dogs have become more than pets to the two professors. They are beloved members of the family who, like all good dogs, are there when you need someone to listen or someone to walk.

Soren said he walks the dog around campus every day, and these walks always leave him amazed at what Angel can find in the trivial parts of our world.

"I think that we both think that we can learn from each other," Soren said. "She teaches me a lot about nature and the environment, and I generally try to keep her from walking into cacti and things like that."

While Soren is an academic with 10 books to his credit, and Robinson is a singer who's appeared at Carnegie Hall, both have a need in their lives for the love of a dog ... at all times.

Soren hasn't thought about writing a book about his dog, but he's started acknowledging it in his work.

"I dedicated my last book to her. In the dedication I said I would probably have finished it a lot sooner if it wasn't for her, but at least I lived to write it," he said.