New Research to Study Effects of Service Dogs on Post 9-11 War Veterans with PTSD

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today that the public is now invited to submit nominations for the Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards, a program designed to recognize companies and organizations that are using innovation to advance the human-animal bond and create a more pet-friendly society. “HABRI is inspired by so many impassioned companies and organizations that are finding innovative ways to honor the human-animal bond,” said Steven Feldman, president of HABRI. “Research shows how pets boost our mental and physical health, which is why it is so important to recognize those that contribute to a stronger role for pets in society.” “PetSmart Charities is thrilled to be the Presenting Sponsor for the Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards,” said Aimee Gilbreath, President of PetSmart Charities. “We look forward to providing a platform for groundbreaking new ideas and innovations that can improve life for pets and people together.” The submission deadline for award nominations is May 22, 2023. To submit a nomination, please visit www.habri.org/hab-innovation-awards.Nominations can be submitted in five award categories: Products and Services: Recognizes companies or organizations creating products or services that acknowledge and enhance the human-animal bond. Pet-Inclusive Culture: Recognizes companies, organizations, or institutions creating a pet inclusive culture within communities, groups and/or workplaces. Public Service: Recognizes organizations with impactful programs to protect and strengthen the human-animal bond in their communities. Pet-Inclusive Infrastructure: Recognizes companies, organizations, or institutions purposefully developing transportation, architecture, or environments to safeguard and strengthen the human-animal bond. Media: Recognizes an individual, media outlet or creative content that positively educates people about and illuminates key aspects of the human-animal bond. “This year’s award categories...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced a new grant to research the impact of adopting small animals on pet owner wellbeing. This grant was awarded to a team of researchers led by Principal Investigator Professor Carri Westgarth, Chair in Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Liverpool. This project will use surveys with owners of small pets to examine changes to the owner’s mental and physical wellbeing after the adoption of rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, and mice from a shelter. Researchers will also conduct in-depth interviews with owners of these types of pets, gaining further insight into the human-animal bond and the pet adoption process. “Current research is often focused on dog and cat ownership, and the evidence base regarding health impacts from owning small furry pets is less well developed,” said Carri Westgarth, the Principal Investigator of this study. “Our research will help uncover the impact of owning small furry pets and the experiences people have adopting them from shelters, which we hope will help shelters guide and support successful small pet adoptions.” This study has two parts. In part one, researchers will conduct in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 30 pet owners to examine perceptions and experiences of owning a small pet on owner wellbeing. In part two, researchers will conduct a longitudinal cohort study of 450 new pet owners, following up with participants at 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months after adoption from Woodgreen Pets Charity and other shelters. This will track how the human-animal bond develops over time and measure changes in owners’ psychological, social, and physical health. Researchers expect to find adoption of small shelter pets will lead to positive changes in health outcomes, which will be further enhanced in new pet owners. “Human-animal bond research should include all pet species,” said Steven Feldman, President, HABRI. “HABRI is proud to support research to...

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...