Research to Assess Impact of Equine-Assisted Services on Trauma Survivors

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) hosted its first-ever Spring Policy Forum focused on Mental Health and Companion Animals, convening leaders in the pet care community and partners in the mental health space to move society toward more widespread awareness of the important role of companion animals for improved mental health. The Policy Forum program featured presentations addressing research, practice, and policies associated with this important topic and delivered by expert speakers from a wide array of disciplines. Speakers included Susan Trachman, MD, a Board-Certified Psychiatrist who talked about the role of pet ownership in supporting mental health and Mental Health America (MHA) and HABRI unveiled results of a survey of 4,000 MHA constituents on the care and resource-related needs of those impacted by mental health related to companion animals. The MHA-HABRI survey found that pet owners overwhelmingly report positive health benefits resulting from their pet, that there is great interest and need for resources related to pets and mental health, and that this is particularly true among those living with a mental or physical disability: 98% of pet owners report at least one health benefit resulting from their pet, including reduced feelings of loneliness (73%), providing comfort (73%) and a source of happiness (79%) 71% of respondents (76% of those with a disability) are interested in working with a mental health professional who incorporates pets or animal-assisted interventions (AAI) into their practice Those with a disability are more likely to say they are interested in pets to support their mental health (79%) compared to those without a disability (50%) 93% of respondents agree there should be more support for pet ownership and AAIs in society “Mental Health America is proud to partner with HABRI to bring forward new data from our constituency on the experiences, benefits and challenges related to pets and mental health,” said America...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) has hailed the results of a HABRI-funded study led by researchers at the Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia (UWA) that found dog ownership to be positively associated with physical activity in preschool-aged children. The study was just published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports. “Our research found that engaging with the family dog through playing and going on family walks was positively associated with young children’s physical activity, sleep, and negatively associated with screen time,” said Telethon Kids and UWA Associate Professor Hayley Christian, who was Principal Investigator on the study. “With many young children not meeting the recommended levels of physical activity, screen time and sleep, we hope these results will help parents, children and pets be more active and healthy.” “With these new research findings, we have solid evidence that pet dogs can benefit physical health in young children,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “HABRI looks forward to sharing these results and encouraging families to spend more quality time playing with and walking their dogs.” The research team, led by Dr. Christian, analyzed data from 1,336 children aged 2-5 years in the ‘Play Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity’ (PLAYCE) study, an observational study investigating the influence of the childcare environment on young children’s physical activity. Parent-report surveys collected information about socio-demographic characteristics, family dog ownership, physical activity, outdoor play, family dog walking and play, screen time and sleep. Preschoolers wore ActiGraph accelerometers to measure physical activity. Findings indicate that dog-owning preschoolers did eight more sessions per week of unstructured physical activity than those from non-dog households. Dog-owning preschoolers who played with their dog three or more times per week...