Pet Giving Network Portal Now Open, Enabling Pet Care Companies to Help Pets with Coordinated Disaster Relief

The Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today that Regency, a leading national provider of pet aftercare services, has become an official supporter of HABRI and its research on the health benefits of companion animals. “Regency’s mission of compassion and respect for the human-animal bond aligns very strongly with HABRI and its mission,” said Scott Buttz, Chief Operating Officer at Regency. “Animals bring unconditional love into this world, and part of honoring their lives includes investing in the human-animal bond at every stage.” “When pet owners lose their beloved family members, their pets, Regency helps to make the process easier for all involved,” said Steven Feldman, Executive Director of HABRI. “Supporting pet owners and veterinarians at these difficult times is so important, which is why HABRI is proud to partner with Regency on research and education around this critical aspect of the human-animal bond.” Regency works directly with pet owners and partners with veterinarians to provide nationally recognized, individualized aftercare services to clients, recognizing the loss of a pet can be one of the most difficult experiences for families. The Regency Family is recognized as “partners of choice” in their local communities for adhering to a stringent code of ethics and industry standards. Scientific evidence increasingly shows that pets improve humans’ heart health; alleviate depression; increase well-being; support child health and educational development; and contribute to healthy aging. The benefits of the human-animal bond impact more than just human health. Findings from a HABRI survey of 2,000 pet owners demonstrate that knowledge of the scientific research supporting the health benefits of the human-animal bond motivates pet owners to take better care of their pets. Knowledge of the health benefits of pets also helps encourage pet ownership, as 81 percent of pet owners surveyed stated that they are more like...

The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act Coalition today celebrated the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which for the third year in a row, includes funding for an important grant program designed to enable more domestic violence shelters to become pet-friendly so that victims of domestic violence and their pets may seek safe shelter together. The $3 million appropriated for 2022 represents a $500,000 increase in funding from 2021, up to the fully-authorized amount, and comes three years after bipartisan passage of the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. “Congressional funding for the PAWS Act, coupled with private sector support, directly results in more domestic abuse survivors and their pets being able to safely enter shelter and start the next chapter of their lives together,” said Nina Leigh Krueger, CEO and President of Purina. “Through Purina’s partnership with RedRover on the Purple Leash Project, we’ve set a national goal to help ensure that at least 25% of domestic violence shelters in the U.S. are pet-friendly by 2025. Full funding of the PAWS Act keeps this goal within reach.” Demand for the Emergency Transitional Pet Shelter Housing and Assistance Grant Program has continually surpassed the funding available for the program, leading to bipartisan calls to further increase funding in 2022. The PAWS Act Coalition honors the bipartisan efforts of 204 Representatives, led by Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), and 43 Senators, led by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Gary Peters (D-MI), for requesting this critical funding for FY 2022. Domestic violence shelters across the U.S. will be eligible to apply online for grants in the coming months, and additional details about the application process will be forthcoming from the U.S. Department of Justice, which administers the grant program. This continued funding follows the success of the FY 2020 and FY 2021 Emergency Transitional Pet Shelter Housing...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) has hailed the results of a HABRI-funded study led by researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia (UWA) that found dog ownership to be positively associated with physical activity in preschool-aged children. The study was just published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports. “Our research found that engaging with the family dog through playing and going on family walks was positively associated with young children’s physical activity, sleep, and negatively associated with screen time,” said Telethon Kids and UWA Associate Professor Hayley Christian, who was Principal Investigator on the study. “With many young children not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity, screen time and sleep, we hope these results will help parents, children and pets be more active and healthy.” “With these new research findings, we have solid evidence that pet dogs can benefit physical health in young children,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “HABRI looks forward to sharing these results and encouraging families to spend more quality time playing with and walking their dogs.” The research team, led by Dr. Christian, analyzed data from 1,336 children aged 2-5 years in the ‘Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity’ (PLAYCE) study, an observational study investigating the influence of the childcare environment on young children’s physical activity. Parent-report surveys collected information about socio-demographic characteristics, family dog ownership, physical activity, outdoor play, family dog walking and play, screen time and sleep. Preschoolers wore ActiGraph accelerometers to measure physical activity. Findings indicate that dog-owning preschoolers did eight more sessions per week of unstructured physical activity than those from non-dog households. Dog-owning preschoolers who played with their dog three or more times per week...