New Research to Study Effects of Dogs on Children’s Stress

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Synchrony (NYSE: SYF), a leading consumer finance company, today announced a strategic partnership to advance the companies’ shared goal of strengthening the human-animal bond. “At Synchrony, we’re continually looking for ways to equip pet parents and veterinarians with the knowledge, resources and financial solutions to provide all pets with the care they need, over the course of their lifetime,” said Boo Larsen, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Veterinary and Pet Care, Synchrony. “By joining forces with HABRI, we hope to help everyone in the relationship with the animal truly understand the mutually beneficial power of the bond, which will in turn lead to better veterinary care.”[1] Synchrony is committed to empowering the health and wellness of people and their families, including their pets, through its flexible financial solutions including the CareCredit health and wellness credit card and Pets Best, as well as partnerships such as this one with HABRI.  HABRI’s efforts to demonstrate and substantiate the positive impact of this special bond on the health of pets, individuals, families and communities align perfectly with Synchrony. Synchrony will help HABRI fulfill its mission of building the human-animal bond by: Funding HABRI’s impactful research that documents the positive benefits of companion animals for personal and public health and addresses major industry issues. Amplifying HABRI’s science-based education to CareCredit’s network of 25,000 veterinary providers – which reaches 95% of veterinary university hospitals and ~75% of veterinary hospitals nationwide – to increase public awareness of the human-animal bond’s essential role in human and animal health and wellness. Participating in HABRI’s public policy initiatives and advocating for legislative solutions that support pet owners and help increase access to pet care. Synchrony executives recently participated...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced a new grant for research that will apply methods in machine learning and data analytics, supported with data from human cohort studies, to gain a better understanding of the human-animal bond and the connection to pet and human health. This grant was awarded to a team of researchers led by Principal Investigator Dr. Nophar Geifman, Professor of Health and Biomedical Informatics at the University of Surrey. “The bond between humans and their companion animals offers significant health benefits for both sides,” said Dr. Nophar Geifman, the Principal Investigator for this study. “We aim to gain a better understanding of this bond and its effect on companion animal and human health and wellbeing, by applying artificial intelligence approaches to questionnaire data as well as data from other studies on health outcomes in humans.” Researchers will utilize data from the International Survey of Pet Owners & Veterinarians, commissioned by HABRI in partnership with Zoetis, for this research. First, using a range of computational techniques, researchers will investigate which measures are most associated with the strength of the human-animal bond, such as quality of life and veterinary care. Researchers will then use methods in machine learning to identify different subgroups or “types” of pet parents, based on their characteristics, and relate those subgroups to animal health outcomes and the human-animal bond. Researchers will rely on these data-driven insights to design and propose the deployment of a new survey within the UK-Biobank, a 500,000-person study on health and wellbeing. Information derived from this venture will be disseminated and can inform the wider population on the benefits of the human-animal bond. The availability of complementary data to the HABRI-Zoetis International Survey, including proposed access to the UK-Biobank, will allow future analyses to incorporate and control for...

Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) Honors: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Pet-Inclusive Culture Category  The Street Dog Coalition Public Service Category The Dr. Vernard Hodges It Takes a Village Foundation Media Category Amazon Products & Services Category BestyBnB Pet-Inclusive Infrastructure Category The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced the winners of its annual Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards, which recognize companies and organizations with innovative products and programs designed to advance the human-animal bond and create a more pet-friendly society. The 2023 Human Animal Bond Innovation Award winners are:   Pet-Inclusive Culture: Tito’s Handmade Vodka Tito’s Handmade Vodka has been proud to call itself a team of “dog people” for more than twenty-five years. At first, it was just Tito and “DogJo” out at the distillery. Soon, stray dogs started showing up to receive food and care, creating a tradition of distillery dogs that continues to this day. Since those early days, Tito’s has rescued over 120 distillery dogs and supported thousands of animal-focused nonprofits. From the distillery to home offices around the country and beyond, Tito’s culture always includes canine companions – affectionately known as co-woofers – with pet-friendly workspaces and regular “yappy hours”. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is always ready to celebrate the human-animal bond, serving as a model of pet-inclusive culture. The Pet-Inclusive Culture category is sponsored by Nationwide Pet.   Public Service Category: Street Dog Coalition The Street Dog Coalition (SDC) works to strengthen the human-animal bond in over sixty communities with street clinics to provide free veterinary care to pets of people who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing homelessness. They focus on providing services that are anchored around a One Health model that recognizes the way that people, animals and their communities all affect...