Human-Animal Bond Day
In recognition of the universal human-animal bond, November 8 is celebrated annually as International Human-Animal Bond Day!
What is the Human-Animal Bond?
The American Veterinary Medical Association defines the human-animal bond as a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals, influenced by behaviors considered essential to the health and wellbeing of both. This bond is beneficial to the mental, physical, and social health of people, and animals.
How can I celebrate Human-Animal Bond Day?
- Learn more about the International Survey of Pet Owners (Watch this video!)
- Share the Top 5 Benefits of the Human-Animal Bond Infographic (Available in Mandarin, Spanish, French, and German!)
- Become Human-Animal Bond Certified
- Take the HABSCORE to Determine the Strength of Your Own Human-Animal Bond
We hope you can make use of the resources found in this hub to learn more about, and raise awareness of, the vital role of the human-animal bond in the health and well-being of people, pets, cultures, and communities.
Celebrate International Human Animal Bond Day by raising awareness of HABRI and Zoetis’ survey of over 19,000 pet owners and 1,500 veterinarians across 10 countries and 5 continents that shows the human-animal bond is strong, that pets positively impact their owners’ health, and that stronger bonds are connected to improved veterinary care around the globe. You can more about findings from this survey here.
Here’s a short video from Zoetis highlighting results from our survey:
Top 5 Benefits of the Human-Animal Bond
To help us raise awareness of the health benefits of the human-animal bond with an international audience, we’ve translated the ‘Top 5 Benefits of the Human-Animal Bond’ infographic into many languages including Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, and German!
- Download the English language infographic here.
- Download the Spanish language infographic here.
- Download the Mandarin Chinese language infographic here.
- Download the French language infographic here.
- Download the German language infographic here.
Please consider posting this infographic on your social media channels, websites and share with your colleagues, friends and family to help us strengthen the human-animal bond for all!
Human-Animal Bond Certification, created by the NAVC in partnership with HABRI, is a video-based, three-part program designed to help explain what the bond is, how it works and to demonstrate the role of the veterinary healthcare team in strengthening its effects. Read more about this certificate available to practicing veterinarians and other animal health professionals on HABRI’s website here.
Take the HABSCORE Test to Determine the Strength of Your Own Human-Animal Bond
To quantifiably measure the human-animal bond among pet owners on a global basis for the HABRI-Zoetis International Human-Animal Bond survey, researchers developed HABSCORE, a scale that builds upon scientifically-validated academic research.
The HABSCORE expands on other scales that focus on attachment, such as the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) and the CENSHARE Pet Attachment Survey and breaks the human-animal bond down into four distinctive dimensions:
Attachment
The emotional connection the owner feels to the pet
Humanization
Empathic attributes the owner projects onto the pet
Commitment
The changes/sacrifices the owner is prepared to make to accommodate their pet
Integration
The extent to which the pet is integrated in the owner’s everyday life
The HABSCORE scale contains 14 statements, which are listed below. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, neutral (neither agree nor disagree), disagree or strongly disagree by using the sliders below.
Your HABSCORE:
