Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Announces 2016 Research Grants

The Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation today announced funding for seven research grants in 2015, totaling more than $225,000 dollars. Focused on child health and development, mental health and wellness, and healthy aging, these grants will advance scientific understanding of the human-animal bond and its impact on human health. “As one of the organization’s founders, I am proud of how far we have come in only a few years,” said Bob Vetere, President and CEO of the American Pet Products Association and President of the HABRI Board of Trustees. “With HABRI, we can put science behind what many of us believe – if we take good care of our pets, they will take good care of us!” “The companies and organizations that support HABRI are leaders in supporting the scientific research to advance our knowledge of the human-animal bond,” said HABRI Executive Director Steven Feldman. “Everyone associated with HABRI is grateful for their commitment to this important endeavor.” HABRI has awarded a total of $226,557 to the following recipients and research projects: Sandra Branson, PhD, MSN, RN (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston): Biobehavioral Effects of Therapy Dog Visitation in Elderly Intensive Care Unit Patients Alan E. Kazdin, PhD, ABPP (Yale University): Interactions with Animals to Reduce Children’s Stress Rebecca A. Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP (University of Missouri): Companion Animals, Social Engagement, and Psychological Well-Being in Mid and Later Adulthood Annie Petersen, Ed.D (Association for Human-Animal Bond Studies): Listening EARS: How Does Reading to Rabbits Effect the Reading Skills of Third Grade Students? Robin L. Gabriels, PsyD (University of Colorado, Denver): Physiological Wellness Effects of Animal-Assisted Activities in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Specialized Psychiatric Hospital Program Marguerite E. O’Haire, PhD (Purdue University): Pilot Study of the Effects of Service Dogs...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) is proud to announce a new partnership with Ancestry®, maker of the Know Your Pet DNA test. This collaboration will advance scientific research on the bond between people and pets, enhancing our understanding of the profound health benefits that this relationship provides. Ancestry will support HABRI’s ongoing efforts to fund innovative research on the human-animal bond. HABRI has to date funded 57 research projects examining the positive health impacts of the bond for both people and animals including improved mental, physical and social health. “Ancestry is proud to support HABRI’s mission,” said Caitlyn Bruns, Senior Manager of DNA Strategy at Ancestry. “Ancestry started Know Your Pet DNA because we believe that understanding the genetics and history of our pets not only enriches the lives of animals but also strengthens the connections we share with them.” In collaboration with Ancestry, HABRI will continue to educate the public about the human-animal bond, creating new opportunities to communicate the far-reaching impact of pets on society and the value of companion animals as a part of healthy lifestyles. “Scientific research has consistently shown that the human-animal bond plays a vital role in enhancing quality of life,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “Partnering with Ancestry will allow us to further explore how these relationships affect both humans and pets in meaningful ways and provide new insights into how we can strengthen this connection.”

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced a new grant for research to examine the effects of therapy dog interactions on heart and brain activity. This grant was awarded to a team of researchers at the University of Wollongong, led by Jillian Teo, PhD Candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Wollongong along with Professor Stuart Johnstone at the School of Psychology and Professor Susan Thomas at the Graduate School of Medicine. This study will investigate the changes in heart and brain activity occurring in university students during interactions with therapy dogs and aims to better understand the mechanisms behind the benefits of human-dog interactions on human health and wellbeing. In addition to measurements of heart and brain activity, researchers will also collect self-report measures of emotional states and psychological distress from students. The study hypothesizes that therapy dog interactions will lead to greater relaxation compared to standard relaxation methods which could potentially inform future interventions and policies to optimize student health. “Our preliminary study indicates that therapy dogs can favorably influence multiple human health-related pathways, including the autonomic and central nervous systems, likely through reductions in stress and increases in relaxation,” said Jillian Teo, the Principal Investigator for this project. “This new study will yield insights into the mechanisms underlying these benefits for human health and facilitate the development of evidence-based practices to optimize future animal-assisted interventions for improved health and wellbeing.” This study will adopt a repeated measures design to examine psychophysiological outcomes from 100 university students, combining subjective self-report measures with objective physiological measurements including heart rate, heart rate variability, and an electroencephalogram (EEG). The study will further add to the existing literature...