Embrace Pet Insurance Supports Human-Animal Bond Research

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), along with leading organizations in the pet care community presented Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-5) with the “Human Animal Bond Lifetime Achievement Award” at Pet Night on Capitol Hill. Pet Night paid special tribute to Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-5) with the “Human-Animal Bond Lifetime Achievement Award” to recognize his dedication to animal health and the human-animal bond. Throughout his impressive career, Congressman Schrader, currently the only veterinarian in Congress, was instrumental in developing legislation to safeguard the integrated health of people and companion animals. “Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve been proud to champion the important benefits pets bring to our lives, and the vital role veterinary medicine plays in safeguarding public health,” said Representative Schrader. “It was my honor to receive the Human-Animal Bond Lifetime Achievement Award. I hope to inspire my colleagues and others to continue to support policies and legislation that advance the health of people and their pets.” The Human Animal Bond Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Congressman Schrader by HABRI, the American Pet Products Association (APPA), American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), Animal Health Institute (AHI), American Kennel Club (AKC), Cat Fanciers’ Association, North American Veterinary Community (NAVC), Pet Advocacy Network and the World Pet Association (WPA). “On behalf of the entire pet care community, we are incredibly grateful for the dedication of Congressman Schrader and his staff to animal health and the human-animal bond,” said Steven Feldman, President, HABRI. “Through supporting legislation like the One Health Act that serves to protect the health of animals and humans, Representative Schrader has helped share the message with Congress that that pets play an important role in our health and...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Pet Partners announced today a new research grant to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to investigate the potential for reduced loneliness among people hospitalized for mental health conditions resulting from a program of therapy dog interventions. This project, titled “A Pilot Study to Examine the Impact of a Therapy Dog Intervention on Loneliness and Related Health Outcomes in Patients with Mental Illness,” aims to address key questions to support an animal-assisted intervention (AAI) as an inpatient intervention for these vulnerable individuals.   “This pilot study is important to Pet Partners as it will help advance standards of practice in the delivery of animal-assisted therapy for a population that stands to benefit from interaction with friendly, well-trained therapy animals,” said C. Annie Peters, President & CEO of Pet Partners. “In supporting this research, we hope to make an impactful contribution to the field of human-animal interaction and to support the work of volunteer therapy animal teams across the country dedicated to sharing the healing benefits of the human-animal bond with people in need of comfort and support.”  “We know that therapy animals can be beneficial to people in the hospital, but there is a need for more scientific studies to investigate their impact on loneliness, and to fully understand what aspects of those interactions are most effective and for whom,” said Nancy Gee, PhD, Professor and Director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction (CHAI) at Virginia Commonwealth University, the study’s principal investigator. “This study seeks to address this gap and provide further support for animal-assisted interventions as a way of addressing loneliness for this at-risk population.”  The goal of this new VCU research project is to collect pilot data in a population that is at-risk for loneliness...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced results of a new publication led by researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia (UWA), which found a simple health intervention using text messaging may encourage children to spend more time being physically active with their family dog. This randomized controlled trial was published in the journal BMC Pediatrics. “We found texting parents to remind them of how easy and important it is to be active with the family dog is a low-cost intervention with the potential to boost public health, which can be easily implemented across entire communities,” said Telethon Kids and UWA Associate Professor Hayley Christian, Principal Investigator on the study. “Interventions, policies and community programs should capitalize on the high level of dog ownership and incorporate dog walking or play into physical activity campaigns.” “This study shows that a simple text message reminder to play or walk with the family dog can result in increased physical activity for children and their caregivers,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “HABRI looks forward to raising awareness of the results of this publication which outline new and simple ways to encourage families to spend more quality time playing with and walking their dogs.” Dr. Christian and colleagues led the Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity’ (PLAYCE) PAWS mHealth intervention, a randomized controlled trial conducted in Perth, Western Australia. Families of children between the ages of 5 and 10 with a family dog were placed into three experiment groups: one group of parents received regular text reminders about family play with the dog, one group received text reminders while also receiving a dog pedometer to further engage them with the dog, and the third group carried on as usual. This study was the first of its kind to utilize a mobile-based dog-facilitated strategy to increase children’s...