ANNOUNCING THE HUMAN ANIMAL BOND INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS | Press Room | HABRI

ANNOUNCING THE HUMAN ANIMAL BOND INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS

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 one another. SDC uses evidence-based practices to inform its outreach efforts, which also include providing free spay/neuter vouchers to pet owners; supporting veterans by caring for their pets; and making public transportation more pet friendly.

The Public Service Category is sponsored by Zoetis.

 

Media Category: The Dr. Vernard Hodges “It Takes a Village” Foundation, Inc.

The Dr. Vernard Hodges “It Takes a Village” Foundation was founded in 2011 by Dr. Vernard Hodges, who along with Vice President Dr. Terrence Ferguson are popular celebrity veterinarians with their hit National Geographic WILD TV show, “Critter Fixers: Country Vets.” Both veterinarians have been active in their middle Georgia community for many years through generous charitable contributions and entrepreneurial leadership. Selected for its “Vet for a Day” program, the “It Takes a Village” Foundation introduces teens to veterinary medicine as a career. Dr. Hodges and Dr. Ferguson are passionate about sharing their knowledge, skills and life journeys to help children from diverse communities learn about career opportunities in veterinary medicine.

The Media category is sponsored by Dog TV.

 

Products & Services Category: Amazon

Amazon Pet Day in 2023 included five philanthropic mobile clinics, each offering free canine core and rabies vaccinations for up to 100 pets and pet families in need. These clinics were held at central community resource locations chosen to provide access to underserved communities. This collaboration between Amazon, PetIQ and more than 30 grassroots organizations made Pet Day about more than just pet products by connecting passionate veterinary professionals with committed neighborhood groups to serve hundreds of pet families in need.

 

Pet-Inclusive Infrastructure Category: BestyBnB

BestyBnB helps domestic violence, mental health, animal welfare and other social service agencies secure safe, temporary homes for clients and their pets so they can and will seek the help they need. The BestyBnB platform is a critical solution for nonprofit organizations to help millions of women, children, mental health patients and their pets, using innovation and technology to remove barriers to safe housing that exist in many communities across the United States. BestyBnB was born out of the mission to keep pets and people safe, connected and together, building the necessary infrastructure to support the human-animal bond in times of crisis.

 

“PetSmart Charities is proud to be the Presenting Sponsor for the Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards to celebrate the powerful relationship between pets and people,” said Aimee Gilbreath, President of PetSmart Charities and member of the HABRI Board of Trustees. “This year’s honorees demonstrate a deep commitment to protecting and strengthening the human-animal bond in their communities.”

 

“HABRI is grateful to Presenting Sponsor: PetSmart Charities; Category Sponsors: Nationwide Pet, Zoetis and DOGTV; and Supporting Sponsors, whiskerDocs and the World Pet Association,” said HABRI President Steven Feldman. “These organizations have not only made the Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards possible, they have also demonstrated a strong and enduring commitment to the human-animal bond.”

Contact

Hayley Maynard

Hayley@inspireprgroup.com

614.701.8205

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Press Releases
Virtual Lecture: Exploring the Physical, Mental and Social Health Benefits for Adolescents Participating in a Dog Training Program

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and IDEXX today hosted a virtual lecture highlighting a HABRI-funded research project investigating the benefits of engaging in a dog training program for young people aged 10-17. This lecture is a part of the IDEXX Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series, which explores impactful scientific research on the health benefits of the human-animal bond and the importance of veterinary medicine in strengthening human-animal bonds. The lecture, titled “The Impact of a Dog Training Program on the Physical Activity, Quality of Life, and Social Wellbeing of Adolescents”, featured a discussion led by Oregon State University professors Dr. Megan MacDonald, Ph.D, and Dr. Monique Udell, Ph.D, on their study examining a Do as I Do (“DAID”) dog training program, which emphasizes an active partnership between dog and owner by demonstrating a particular behavior for the dog to repeat. The study aims to assess whether youth who undergo the DAID dog training program will experience an improved child-dog bond, increased mutual physical activity as well as higher feelings of responsibility, quality of life and social wellbeing. Partial findings indicate that dogs show great potential to learn when trained by adolescents. “HABRI was proud to host Dr. MacDonald and Dr. Udell as they shared details about their research which addresses the potential of the human-animal bond to support adolescent wellbeing, a group at high risk for physical inactivity, anxiety and depression,” said HABRI President Steven Feldman. “HABRI is grateful to IDEXX for sponsoring this lecture, helping connect veterinarians with the health benefits of the human-animal bond for the entire family.” Veterinary professionals who viewed this session live will be eligible to receive RACE-approved Continuing Education (CE) credit through the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB). The lecture will remain available on-demand at http://www.habri.org/HAB-Lectures....

Press Releases
New Results Highlight Feasibility of Text Message Intervention to Encourage Dog-Facilitated Physical Activity

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced results of a new publication led by researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia (UWA), which found a simple health intervention using text messaging may encourage children to spend more time being physically active with their family dog. This randomized controlled trial was published in the journal BMC Pediatrics. “We found texting parents to remind them of how easy and important it is to be active with the family dog is a low-cost intervention with the potential to boost public health, which can be easily implemented across entire communities,” said Telethon Kids and UWA Associate Professor Hayley Christian, Principal Investigator on the study. “Interventions, policies and community programs should capitalize on the high level of dog ownership and incorporate dog walking or play into physical activity campaigns.” “This study shows that a simple text message reminder to play or walk with the family dog can result in increased physical activity for children and their caregivers,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “HABRI looks forward to raising awareness of the results of this publication which outline new and simple ways to encourage families to spend more quality time playing with and walking their dogs.” Dr. Christian and colleagues led the Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity’ (PLAYCE) PAWS mHealth intervention, a randomized controlled trial conducted in Perth, Western Australia. Families of children between the ages of 5 and 10 with a family dog were placed into three experiment groups: one group of parents received regular text reminders about family play with the dog, one group received text reminders while also receiving a dog pedometer to further engage them with the dog, and the third group carried on as usual. This study was the first of its kind to utilize a mobile-based dog-facilitated strategy to increase children’s...

Press Releases
PAWS Act Coalition Hails Passage of Appropriations Bill as Key Milestone in Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence and their Pets

The PAWS Act Coalition, a group of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, lauded the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which, for the first time, will provide $2 million in USDA grants to enable more domestic violence shelters to become pet-friendly so that victims of domestic violence and their pets may shelter and heal together. The grants come one year after the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act was authorized as part of the 2019 Farm Bill, which received bipartisan support in its passage. “These new grants will help expand the network of domestic violence shelters which allow pets to accompany their families seeking safe shelter,” said Nina Leigh Krueger, president of Purina. “This is an important milestone in the coalition’s collective efforts to create safer communities for pets and pet owners, and Purina will remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting the bond between domestic abuse survivors and their pets by ensuring they can safely heal together.” The PAWS Act Coalition would like to thank the original co-sponsors of the Pet and Women Safety Act for their leadership and commitment to its passage, especially the lead sponsors Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and former Senator Dean Heller (R-NV). The Coalition is also particularly grateful for Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) for spearheading the effort to pass the bill by including its language in the Farm Bill. “No one should have to make the choice between finding safety and staying in a violent situation to protect their pet,” said Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA-5). “This law and the newly appropriated federal dollars will empower survivors with the resources to leave a dangerous situation while being able to continue to care for their pet. I’m grateful for the partnerships we’ve formed between organizations working to end both domestic violence and animal abuse. Together, we will help save lives.” The USDA will now be able...

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