Dave’s Pet Food Supports HABRI

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today the publication of a study exploring the impacts of therapy dog sessions on the welfare of the dogs involved. Conducted by researchers at American Humane, findings of the study demonstrate that dogs did not show increased stress resulting from the therapy visits. Funded by HABRI and Zoetis, American Humane’s newly-released “Canines and Childhood Cancer Study,” is one of the largest human-animal bond studies focusing on the impact of animal-assisted interaction (AAI) on children with cancer and their parents, as well as the participating therapy dogs. “Results of this study demonstrate that dogs did not show increased behavioral or physiological stress, indicating that placing therapy dogs in this type of therapeutic setting does not cause undue stress to the animals,” said Amy McCullough, PhD and Principal Investigator, American Humane. “This research will help American Humane, HABRI and practitioners in the field to maintain the highest standards of animal welfare.” “This research project is important because now we have strong evidence that, with proper training and handling, the welfare of therapy animals in hospital settings is not adversely impacted,” said HABRI Executive Director Steven Feldman. “As more animals are deployed to help hospital patients, we can be confident that the dogs are OK!” Dr. McCullough, along with Ashleigh Ruehrdanz, MPH and Molly Jenkins, MSW of American Humane, supervised data collection on participating handler-dog teams at five children’s hospitals across the United States. The objective of the study in regard to participating canines was to determine the stress levels of therapy dogs during regular AAI sessions with pediatric oncology patients and their families. The research team videotaped each animal-assisted therapy session and coded the dogs’ behavior using an ethogram developed to capture affiliative and stress-related behaviors. The frequency...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Pet Partners today announced new funding for a research project to investigate the health and wellbeing benefits of equine-assisted services (EAS) for survivors of trauma and the horses in the program. This grant of $55,212.30 was awarded to a team of researchers at The Ohio State University led by Kimberly Cole, Extension equine specialist and professor of animal sciences. “Pet Partners is thrilled to support this study on the healing influence of equine-assisted therapy for survivors of trauma,” said C. Annie Peters, president & CEO of Pet Partners. “Understanding the impact of EAS on not only the trauma survivors, but also on the participating horses represents an important contribution to the field of human-animal interaction research.” “An increasing number of programs rely on the positive influence of horses, but we still need more evidence on the specific mechanisms for which human-equine interaction leads to positive health outcomes in human participants,” said Cole. “This research, which utilizes the biopsychosocial model to measure specific biomarkers such as oxytocin, aims to advance the science of animal-assisted therapy in this important area.” Using a within-subject repeated measures design, this study will examine health and wellbeing for both human and equine using outcome measures within a biopsychosocial framework. Participants between 18-55 years of age with trauma symptoms will participate in four consecutive weekly sessions with the same equine. Equine-assisted services (EAS) is a broad term used to describe all ways humans interact with horses and other members of the equine species, including therapeutic, learning, and horsemanship services, with activities such as therapeutic riding as well as grooming. Salivary samples will be collected before and after each session from both humans and equine and analyzed for oxytocin and pro-inflammatory cytokine, hormones associated with...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) virtually delivered the message that pets are good for our health and wellbeing through Pet Week on Capitol Hill. Pet Week featured conversations with pet care leaders and members of Congress about the importance of pet ownership in America and the scientific evidence that shows how pets and people are good for each other. “HABRI is proud to host Pet Night on Capitol Hill, but since we couldn’t be together in person, we decided to build a virtual Pet Week on Capitol Hill,” said Steven Feldman, HABRI’s Executive Director. “The entire pet care community came together to share the power of pets with Congress, and we ended up with even greater participation, which shows how the human-animal bond has grown even stronger during the pandemic.” Pet Week highlighted timely issues including the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on pet adoption in America and the importance of passing lifesaving pet-related legislation aimed at improving the lives of veterans with PTSD and survivors of domestic violence. Congressman Kurt Schrader (OR-5) discussed the importance of One Health Act legislation aimed at helping protect people and pets from zoonotic diseases, and the key role of veterinary medicine in preventing future pandemics. Thousands of participants experienced the human-animal bond from afar, with virtual visits from Pet Partners therapy animals and adoptable pets from the Humane Rescue Alliance. Pet Week also featured a special guest appearance from baseball Hall-of-Famer Tony La Russa, who spoke on the lifesaving impact of service dogs for veterans with post-traumatic stress. For Pet Week’s closing celebration, the Animal Health Institute crowned the winners of the Cutest Pets on Capitol Hill contest, recognizing the most adorable congressional companions from both sides of the aisle. Dog: Sergeant Pepper Owner: Syd Terry Office of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9) Cat: Jackson Owner: Liz Leibowitz Office of Senator Cardin...