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Grief severity: A comparison between human and companion animal death
Contributor(s):: Lavorgna, B. F., Hutton, V. E.
Grief severity was investigated and compared amongst 50 participants aged 18 to 65 years who had experienced the death of a human (n = 35) or the death of a companion animal (n = 15). Participants were recruited in Australia and completed an on-line self-report questionnaire package, measuring...
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Equine-assisted interventions for veterans with service-related health conditions: a systematic mapping review
Contributor(s):: Kinney, A. R., Eakman, A. M., Lassell, R., Wood, W.
BACKGROUND: Evidence-based treatments for service-related health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are not effective for all veterans. Equine-assisted interventions are emerging as an additional treatment modality, but little is...
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Dog Ownership and Training Reduces Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Increases Self-Compassion Among Veterans: Results of a Longitudinal Control Study
Contributor(s):: Bergen-Cico, D., Smith, Y., Wolford, K., Gooley, C., Hannon, K., Woodruff, R., Spicer, M., Gump, B.
Objectives: The aims of this study were to measure the potential impact of a therapeutic dog ownership and training program for Veterans with symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Design: The study used a quasi-experimental design with two cohorts of Veterans-a dog owner-trainer intervention and a...
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The Vulture in the Sky and the Hominin on the Land: Three Million Years of Human–Vulture Interaction
Contributor(s):: Morelli, Federico, Kubicka, Anna Maria, Tryjanowski, Piotr, Nelson, Emma
Vultures and humans have been sympatric for millions of years and evidence from the archaeological and historical records suggests interdependence over long periods. Like other species, early hominins probably used these birds to locate carcasses in the landscape. With the evolution of...
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Using hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal measures for assessing and reducing the stress of dogs in shelters: A review
Contributor(s):: Hennessy, Michael B.
Dogs admitted to animal shelters exhibit behavioral and physiological signs of stress. Among these is activation of the body's primary stress-responsive system, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. HPA activity provides a metric for assessing both the dog's physiological response to the...
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Effects of human contact and toys on the fear responses to humans of shelter-housed dogs
Contributor(s):: Conley, Melanie J., Fisher, Andrew D., Hemsworth, Paul H.
This study examined the effects of human contact and toys on fear responses to humans in small breed, shelter-housed dogs. Ninety dogs were assigned to one of three treatments: “control” (control), comprising routine husbandry performed by shelter staff; “human contact” (HC), where dogs...
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Identifying potential risk situations for humans when removing horses from groups
Contributor(s):: Hartmann, Elke, Søndergaard, Eva, Keeling, Linda J.
Removing a horse from its social group may be considered risky, both for the handler and the horse, because other horses can interfere in the catching process. The main aim of this study was to identify where and when these risk situations occur while removing a horse from its group. A potential...
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Enrichment for captive tigers (Panthera tigris): Current knowledge and future directions
Contributor(s):: Szokalski, Monika S., Litchfield, Carla A., Foster, Wendy K.
Environmental enrichment is a common approach for addressing stereotypic behaviour in captive animals. Like many big cats, tigers (Panthera tigris) are renowned for their stereotypic pacing, yet relatively little is known about optimal enrichment for this species. Given the large proportion of...
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The role of cultural norms in shaping attitudes towards amphibians in Cape Town, South Africa
Contributor(s):: Brom, P., Anderson, P., Channing, A., Underhill, L. G.
Urban ecosystems are increasingly viewed as an important component within strategies for wildlife conservation but are shaped as much by natural systems as they are by social and political processes. At the garden scale, attitudes and preferences govern design and maintenance choices including...
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A Proposal for a Comprehensive Human-Animal Approach of Evaluation for Animal-Assisted Interventions
Contributor(s):: Lerner, H.
Background: An important field of human-animal interactions is animal-assisted interventions (AAIs), which refers to research on human-animal interactions in order to promote or facilitate health or education in humans. Very few studies among the rich literature on AAIs seem to include aspects of...
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Improved Wellbeing for Both Caretakers and Users from A Zoo-Related Nature Based Intervention-A Study at Nordens Ark Zoo, Sweden
Contributor(s):: Sahlin, E., Johansson, B., Karlsson, P. O., Loberg, J., Niklasson, M., Grahn, P.
Nature-based interventions have been proposed to promote physical and mental health and give stress reduction. Little attention has been given to the potential of zoos for human health and wellbeing. A disadvantaged group in Sweden regarding access to nature are individuals with disabilities who...
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Horse Paleogenomes and Human-Animal Interactions in Prehistory
Contributor(s):: Perry, G. H., Makarewicz, C. A.
A new analysis of paleogenomic data from 278 ancient horses (Fages et al. Cellhttp://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.049) finds that this animal - crucially important to many ancient and contemporary human societies for subsistence, transportation, conflict, and more - was domesticated in at least...
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An Exploration of Equine-Assisted Therapy to Improve Balance, Functional Capacity, and Cognition in Older Adults With Alzheimer Disease
Contributor(s):: Borges de Araujo, T., Martins, W. R., Freitas, M. P., Camargos, E., Mota, J., Safons, M. P.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Alzheimer disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive dementia syndrome that features cognitive and behavioral symptoms, as well as physical and functional limitations that develop over the course of the disease. As an activity that involves physical and cognitive aspects,...
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Evolution of facial muscle anatomy in dogs
Contributor(s):: Kaminski, J., Waller, B. M., Diogo, R., Hartstone-Rose, A., Burrows, A. M.
Domestication shaped wolves into dogs and transformed both their behavior and their anatomy. Here we show that, in only 33,000 y, domestication transformed the facial muscle anatomy of dogs specifically for facial communication with humans. Based on dissections of dog and wolf heads, we show that...
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Effectiveness of the dog therapy for patients with dementia - a systematic review
Contributor(s):: Klimova, B., Toman, J., Kuca, K.
BACKGROUND: Dementia represents a mental and economic burden for both patients and their caregivers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of animal assisted therapy (AAT) with special focus on canis therapy among people with dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease....
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Companion Dog Foster Caregiver Program for Older Veterans at the VA Maryland Health Care System: A Feasibility Study
Contributor(s):: Ortmeyer, H. K., Robey, L. C.
Veterans experience mental health conditions at a disproportionate rate compared to their civilian counterparts, and approximately 60% of older veterans who receive their care through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations. We...
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Attachment security in companion dogs: adaptation of Ainsworth's strange situation and classification procedures to dogs and their human caregivers
Contributor(s):: Solomon, J., Beetz, A., Schoberl, I., Gee, N., Kotrschal, K.
This exploratory study describes the development of a classification system for dogs' attachment security to caregivers that adheres closely to Ainsworth's seminal methodology. Fifty-nine adult dogs and caregivers participated in a mildly threatening laboratory encounter with a stranger (TS) and...
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Animal-Assisted Therapy in the Residential Treatment of Dual Pathology
Contributor(s):: Monfort Montolio, M., Sancho-Pelluz, J.
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a complementary intervention of therapy that has shown positive results in the treatment of various pathologies. This study assesses the viability of the implementation and the effectiveness of an AAT program in patients diagnosed with substance abuse disorder and...
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Animal-assisted therapy for dementia
Contributor(s):: Lai, N. M., Chang, S. M. W., Ng, S. S., Tan, S. L., Chaiyakunapruk, N., Stanaway, F.
BACKGROUND: Dementia is a chronic condition which progressively affects memory and other cognitive functions, social behaviour, and ability to carry out daily activities. To date, no treatment is clearly effective in preventing progression of the disease, and most treatments are symptomatic,...
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Elephant in the room: animal assisted interventions
Contributor(s):: Ratschen, E., Sheldon, T. A.
2019Bmj367l62600959-813810.1136/bmj.l6260engDepartment of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK elena.ratschen@york.ac.uk.Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.text
