Pet Night on Capitol Hill Celebrates America’s Love of Pets

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced the winners of the inaugural 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. “As the Presenting Sponsor for the Human Animal Bond Innovation Awards, PetSmart Charities is proud to celebrate organizations that have gone above and beyond to strengthen the connection between people and pets,” said Aimee Gilbreath, President of PetSmart Charities. “This year’s honorees support the deep integration of pets into people’s lives, and their efforts will make a difference for many pets — and those who love and care for them.” Nominations were selected by an expert committee of pet care community leaders assembled by HABRI. Winners were honored at a special awards ceremony held in conjunction with the annual SuperZoo show in Las Vegas. The 2022 Human Animal Bond Innovation Award winners are: Product & Service Category: Health Alliance Medical Plans Health Alliance Medical Plans offers health insurance plans across multiple states in the Midwest region of the United States. As of January 2022, Health Alliance Medical Plans became the first human insurance company to provide fully-paid access to 24-hour veterinary telehealth for 30,000 Medicare Advantage plan members in three regional offerings. “It’s a fact that pets play a tremendous role in human well-being,” said Heidi Sirota, President and Chief Pet Officer of Nationwide’s pet insurance division. “As a proud sponsor of HABRI’s Innovation Awards, Nationwide applauds Health Alliance Medical Plans for advancing the human-animal bond by making critical health resources available to pet families.” Workplace Culture Category: American Heart Association The American Heart Association’s Best Friend Fridays campaign is part of the Association’s Healthy Bond for LifeTM initiative to raise...

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...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Mars Petcare, with support from a broad Consortium of partners, today announced the publication of three papers in the open-access Journal Animals, part of a special issue focused on the role of companion animals during the COVID-19 pandemic, Social Isolation and the Roles That Animals Play in Supporting the Lives of Humans: Lessons for COVID19. The papers focus on the role of human-animal interaction (HAI) in helping to alleviate loneliness and social isolation during the pandemic. These papers were authored by working group members of the Consortium on Social Isolation and Companion Animals, established by HABRI and Mars Petcare in 2018. “These publications represent a critical aspect of our Consortium effort to explore the potential of companion animals to help address the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation, which has only grown more pressing since the pandemic began,” said Steven Feldman, president of HABRI. “As these papers highlight, the human-animal bond has served as a key source of emotional and social support for so many over the last year-and-a-half, underscoring the importance of future research investigating this impact.” “Social isolation and loneliness are immense societal challenges, affecting people in many ways, which require different interventions and treatment approaches,” said Rena Crumplen, Global Vice-President of Research and Development, Mars Petcare. “These publications represent an important scientific milestone in bridging research and practice – helping bring evidence-based solutions to those affected by social isolation and making the case for multidisciplinary efforts to further the field of HAI more broadly.” The paper led by Dr. Dawn Carr, Department of Sociology, Florida State University analyzed longitudinal survey data obtained from a Florida community-based sample of adults aged 60+ in September 2018 and October 2020. Researchers set out to test the association...