Virtual Pet Week on Capitol Hill to Celebrate Growing Importance of Pets in America

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced funding for a new research project at Thompson Rivers University that will explore the role of companion animals (pets) within incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV), including how pets can contribute to the wellbeing of IPV survivors. “Despite a well-established link between IPV and animal abuse, little research has examined the specific impact of pets on IPV,” explained Dr. Rochelle Stevenson, lead investigator for the study. With co-investigators Dr. Allison Gray (Western University) and Dr. Patti Timmons Fritz (University of Windsor), Stevenson offered that “our research will document that pets are victims in their own right as well as important partners in the healing journey of human survivors.” This multi-method study will use data from the 2018 Statistics Canada administered Survey on Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS), a nationally representative sample of Canadian adults, to understand how the experience of animal abuse, which often co-occurs with IPV, relates to survivors’ health and wellbeing. The analysis of this data will be paired with interviews with survivors to explore how companion animals influence help-seeking and healing from violence. Existing data shows that the majority of IPV survivors report pet abuse or the threat of pet abuse. Despite this, only a small percentage of domestic violence shelters offer on-site pet services. Without the ability to leave with their pets, as many as half of these survivors will delay leaving violent situations, putting themselves—and their pets—at further risk. “Our goal is to use these findings to encourage more domestic violence shelters and services to embrace pet-friendly measures that will allow survivors of IPV and their pets to heal together,” added Stevenson. “HABRI is proud to fund research with real-world impact,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “This project will provide new, timely data in...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today a new research project to determine the effects of an equine-assisted therapy (EAT) program on the lives of older adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study, How does 8 weeks of equine-assisted therapy affect older adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease?, led by researchers from the Texas Woman’s University School of Health Promotion and Kinesiology, will compare bradykinesia severity and functional outcomes before and after 8 weeks of EAT in adults with PD, and characterize the resulting human-animal interaction “While research studies examining the physiological benefits of horseback riding have been conducted before, there is a lack of published research regarding the physical adaptations of EAT in adults with PD,” said the study’s Principal Investigator, B. Rhett Rigby, PhD, Texas Woman’s University. “We hope that the results of this study will further the efficacy of EAT as a novel treatment modality for this population, and lead to a more widespread acceptance by healthcare practitioners.” Thirty men diagnosed with PD, aged 40 to 80 years, will be recruited and randomly assigned into two groups. Fifteen participants will complete eight weeks of EAT, and fifteen participants will complete a similar protocol on a horseback riding simulator. The EAT intervention will contain 17 total sessions across a period of eight weeks, and a licensed physical therapist will oversee and conduct all EAT sessions. A similar protocol will be in place for the simulated riding session. Preliminary data in the form of two pilot studies suggest that an improvement in postural sway and balance is present after both EAT and simulated riding in older adults with balance deficits. The study will seek to determine if these adaptions will lead to improvements with other hallmark features of PD pathophysiology, including bradykinesia, posture, balance, and gait. Researchers expect that individuals...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today it has awarded a $33,717 grant to the Texas Tech University for a new study, Integration of AAI and Applied Behavior Analysis to Improve Academic Performance in Children with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability (IDD). This study will examine the effect of an integrated animal-assisted intervention (AAI) in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) on children’s academic performance and physiological stress. “The goal of this study is to determine if interaction with a therapy dog during an ABA-based intervention results in improved academic response and a decrease in child stress levels,” said the study’s principal investigator, Alexandra Protopopova, PhD, Texas Tech University. “The results of this study may provide support for incorporating animals into ABA-based therapy, a bridging of two beneficial therapies for individuals with ASD/IDD that could result in the emergence of advancements in behavioral science.” The one-year, single-subject designed study will examine 6 children between the ages of 4 and 13 with ASD/IDD. The unique, within-subject design will use the 6 participants to address each aim of the study. Dr. Protopopova, Assistant Professor of Animal and Food Sciences and co-investigator Breanna N. Harris, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of the Department of Biological Sciences, will expose each child to 5 conditions, 5 times each in a random sequence and will measure on-task behavior and collect saliva for measurement of cortisol levels. The investigators will then compare each condition on an individual basis. It is expected that when provided with a therapy dog during the ABA-based intervention, the children will have significantly lower stress and that the dogs will be a more potent and durable reward for children, resulting in educational improvements. “Scientific research, including results of previous HABRI-funded studies, has shown that therapy dogs can have a positive...