Nationwide’s Chief Pet Officer Joins HABRI Board of Trustees

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Pet Partners today announced a new grant for research that seeks to understand how individual differences in dogs predict their interest in participating in different types of animal-assisted interventions (AAI). This grant was awarded to Principal Investigator Dr. Sasha Protopopova, Associate Professor in the Animal Welfare Program at the University of British Columbia (UBC), and co-Investigator Dr. Camila Cavalli, Postdoctoral Fellow in UBC’s Animal Welfare Program. This project will examine how individual differences influence the willingness of therapy dogs to take part in different types of human-animal interactions with a focus on enhancing animal welfare. This knowledge could lead to the development of guidelines for selecting therapy dogs based on their genuine interest in participation rather than just tolerance, thereby improving dog welfare and leading to more effective therapeutic outcomes. “Pet Partners is dedicated to advancing high standards in the field of animal-assisted interventions,” said C. Annie Peters, president & CEO, Pet Partners. “We are proud to be supporting this work with HABRI, which will help to advance our understanding of therapy dog welfare, helping to ensure only the most suitable animals are involved in these therapeutic interventions.” “Therapy dogs often do not have the ability to express their preferences within an AAI session, which could potentially lead to stress or reduce the effectiveness of their work,” said Dr. Sasha Protopopova, the Principal Investigator of this project. “We aim to improve the welfare of therapy dogs by understanding their preferences and interests during AAI.” Researchers will enroll 25 therapy dogs and 25 pet dogs, matched by breed and age. Dog owners will complete two dog behavior questionnaires, and each dog will attend two mock AAI sessions at the University of British Columbia’s Human Animal Interaction Lab, where their behavior...

Results of a just-published study led by researchers at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute and funded by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) demonstrate that young children from dog-owning households are less likely to experience difficulties with their emotions and social interactions compared to children in households without a pet dog. The study was published in the journal Pediatric Research. “Our research found that having a family dog in the household was positively associated with young children’s social-emotional development,” said Dr. Hayley Christian, Associate Professor at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute and Principal Investigator of the study. “Our research also supports spending time walking and playing with the dog for added benefits, and we hope these results will help parents, children and pets remain active at home during this time of physical distancing.” “Findings of this study demonstrate that, starting from a young age, the human-animal bond can play an important role in a child’s social and emotional development,” said Steven Feldman, Executive Director of HABRI. “HABRI is proud to support this important research, which will encourage more families to consider the benefits of dog ownership and more dog-owning families to spend quality time with their beloved pets.” The team of researchers at The University of Western Australia and Telethon Kids Institute, led by Dr. Christian, collected survey data from 1,646 households, taking into account children’s age, biological sex, sleep habits, screen time and parents’ education levels. Findings indicate that dog ownership is associated with improvements in wellbeing and social-emotional development in children. Specifically, in comparison to children in non-dog-owning households, children from dog-owning households were 23 percent less likely to have difficulties with their emotions and social interactions...

Pet ownership saves the U.S. health care system $22.7 billion annually, according to a newly released economic report. The report, commissioned by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), examined the health care cost savings associated with pet ownership in the United States. The report – made possible by a grant from Banfield Pet Hospital – was co-authored by Terry L. Clower, PhD and Tonya E. Thornton, PhD, MPPA, both of whom have extensive expertise in economic and public policy research. Their analysis not only reflects savings from better overall health for pet owners in the form of fewer doctor visits per year, but also tracks specific savings for key public health issues affecting millions of Americans, including reduced obesity, reduced infections, and better mental health for children, seniors, and our nation’s veterans. Annual Health Care Cost Savings Associated with Pet Ownership “The results of this analysis are conservative and likely underestimate the positive health care savings connected to pet ownership,” said Dr. Clower. “Presently, there is not yet sufficient data available to calculate the direct heath care cost savings for some of the known beneficial health effects of pet ownership and we believe that future analyses will show even greater economic benefits.” “By commissioning this economic report, we are documenting the important role of pets as valued contributors to public health,” said Steven Feldman, president of HABRI. “This data suggests that there should be stronger societal support for keeping pets and people healthy together.” The full report, The Health Care Cost Savings of Pet Ownership, is available for download at https://habri.org/health-care-cost-savings/. Report Methodology The report authors conducted an analysis of the health care cost savings associated with pet ownership by examining the scientifically-documented health benefits of pet ownership; identifying the populations receiving these benefits;...