-
Childhood Experiences with Family Pets and Internalizing Symptoms in Early Adulthood
Contributor(s):: Girardi, Alberta, Pozzulo, Joanna D.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether childhood experiences with family pets are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in early adulthood. Undergraduate students (n=318) responded to an online survey that included questions about bonding with childhood pets, exposure...
-
Companion Animals and Loneliness: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies
Contributor(s):: Gilbey, Andrew, Tani, Kawtar
The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate quantitative studies of companion animals and human loneliness. Five electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier, Psychlnfo) were searched for articles on companion animals (including animal-assisted therapies...
-
Companion-Animals’ Effectiveness in Managing Chronic Pain in Adult Community Members
Contributor(s):: Bradley, Lahna, Bennett, Pauleen C.
Therapy animals have been found to alleviate pain in healthcare settings, but companion-animal owners report greater discomfort and use more analgesics than people who do not own one or more companion animals. To investigate this anomaly, 173 adults completed an online survey that included...
-
‘Beware, I am big and non-dangerous!’ – Playfully growling dogs are perceived larger than their actual size by their canine audience
Contributor(s):: Bálint, Anna, Faragó, Tamás, Dóka, Antal, Miklósi, Ádám, Pongrácz, Péter
Nonhuman animals often use specific signals to initiate playful interactions. There is evidence also for different forms of play-maintenance. Playful encounters include out-of-context and exaggerated behavioural sequences. Scientists have already collected knowledge about virtual size...
-
Exploring the influence of pet assisted activities on aggressive behaviour amongs grade R learners
| Contributor(s):: Jani Coetzee
As a grade R teacher in South Africa, the researcher was disturbed by the extent of aggressive behaviour amongst children (aged 4 years to 6 years). Other teachers involved with the same class were of the opinion that the aggressive behaviour had a detrimental effect on their instructional time...
-
Dog walking among adolescents: Correlates and contribution to physical activity.
| Contributor(s):: Jessa K. Engelberg, Jordan A. Carlson, Terry L. Conway, Kelli L. Cain, Brian E. Saelens
PURPOSE: To assess the association of dog walking with adolescents' moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and body mass index (BMI), and identify correlates of dog walking. METHODS/DESIGN: Participants were 12-17year-olds (n=925) from the Baltimore, MD and Seattle, WA regions....
-
A Preliminary Description of Companion Cat, Managed Stray Cat, and Unmanaged Stray Cat Welfare in Auckland, New Zealand Using a 5-Component Assessment Scale
| Contributor(s):: Sarah Zito, Jessica Walker, M. Carolyn Gates, Arnja Dale
Free-roaming cats are a polarizing issue in New Zealand and there is strong need for a comprehensive evaluation of their welfare to better inform population management decisions. In this study, a 5-component visual health-related welfare assessment scale was developed and piloted on a...
-
The Changing Legal Status of Cats in Australia: From Friend of the Settlers, to Enemy of the Rabbit, and Now a Threat to Biodiversity and Biosecurity Risk
| Contributor(s):: Sophie Riley
In NSW, free-roaming cats are regarded as one the biggest threats to biodiversity. Yet, at one stage they were classified as “the enemy of the rabbit” and were protected and released in their thousands. The purpose of this article is to examine the changing status of cats in...
-
The experiences of adolescents in residential care participating in equine assisted learning
| Contributor(s):: Louise Fischer
High-risk behaviour among adolescents places heavy burdens on the public health, social welfare and criminal justice systems of many countries. Today, Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) is increasingly used as an adjunct and experiential intervention programme to support the learning and personal...
-
Dog Movie Stars and Dog Breed Popularity: A Case Study in Media Influence on Choice
| Contributor(s):: Stefano Ghirlanda, Alberto Acerbi, Harold Herzog
Fashions and fads are important phenomena that influence many individual choices. They are ubiquitous in human societies, and have recently been used as a source of data to test models of cultural dynamics. Although a few statistical regularities have been observed in fashion cycles, their...
-
Evaluation of Unowned Domestic Cat Management in the Urban Environment of Rome After 30 Years of Implementation of the No-Kill Policy (National and Regional Laws)
| Contributor(s):: Eugenia Natoli, Livia Malandrucco, Laura Minati, Stefania Verzichi, Raffaella Perino, Laura Longo, Francesca Pontecorvo, Anna Faini
Law no. 281, enacted by the Italian Parliament in 1991, was the first that aimed at managing urban free-roaming cats living in colonies, without killing and/or moving them from their site. It had been anticipated by the Lazio Regional Law no. 63/1988 and subsequently refined by the Lazio...
-
Public Opinions on Strategies for Managing Stray Cats and Predictors of Opposition to Trap-Neuter and Return in Brisbane, Australia
| Contributor(s):: Jacquie Rand, Gina Fisher, Kate Lamb, Andrea Hayward
A survey of Brisbane residents was undertaken to investigate community attitudes toward urban stray cats and their management. Surveys were distributed to 84 medical and dental practices across Brisbane City, and were completed by 305 patients and staff. Practices were targeted to achieve a...
-
Rendering Connection: Symbiosis Through Overlapping and Layering
| Contributor(s):: Haomin Yang
This thesis seeks to create a space that enables social energy in traditional senior apartments by overlapping with another program, the animal center. Animals, as spiritual beings, may help ease stress and loneliness in the elderly. Also, animals can be seen as catalysts for intergenerational...
-
Spatialities of Dog Theft: A Critical Perspective
| Contributor(s):: Daniel Allen, Adam Peacock, Jamie Arathoon
Dogs are considered property under U.K. law, while current discourses of pet ownership place canine companions as part of an extended family. This means sentences for those who steal dogs are not reflective of a dogs’ sentience and agency, rather in line with charges for those who steal a...
-
Canine Olfactory Thresholds to Amyl Acetate in a Biomedical Detection Scenario
| Contributor(s):: Astrid R. Concha, Claire M. Guest, Rob Harris, Thomas W. Pike, Alexandre Feugier, Helen Zulch, Daniel S. Mills
Dogs’ abilities to respond to concentrations of odorant molecules are generally deemed superior to electronic sensors. This sensitivity has been used traditionally in many areas; but is a more recent innovation within the medical field. As a bio-detection sensor for human diseases such as...
-
Behavioral Interventions as an Adjunctive Treatment for Canine Epilepsy: A Missing Part of the Epilepsy Management Toolkit?
| Contributor(s):: Rowena M. A. Packer, Sarah L. Hobbs, Emily J. Blackwell
Epilepsy is a common, complex and often challenging neurological disorder to treat in the dog, with 20–30% of dogs resistant to conventional medical therapies, and associated with cognitive and behavioral comorbidities and early death. Behavioral interventions are an emerging area of...
-
Redefining Shelter: Fostering Human/Canine Relationships Through a New Typology
| Contributor(s):: Sabrina Nagel
This thesis explores how design settings foster rehabilitation in humans and canines through mutual interaction. A synergy must be created between the 3.3 million dogs put into shelters in the U.S. every year (ASPCA) and the 11-20% of children in the U.S. who have a mental disorder (CDC). An...
-
Decrease in Population and Increase in Welfare of Community Cats in a Twenty-Three Year Trap-Neuter-Return Program in Key Largo, FL: The ORCAT Program
| Contributor(s):: Rachael E. Kreisler, Heather N. Cornell, Julie K. Levy
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a long-term (23-year) trapneuter-return program on the population size of community cats in the Ocean Reef Community and to describe the demographic composition and outcome of enrolled cats. A retrospective study was performed using both...
-
The Road to TNR: Examining Trap-Neuter-Return Through the Lens of Our Evolving Ethics
| Contributor(s):: Peter Joseph Wolf, Joan E. Schaffner
In the 2008 article “A Review of Feral Cat Control,” Robertson explored the trend developing in the management of so-called “feral” cats away from lethal methods toward the non-lethal method of trap-neuter-return (TNR). The review explored various issues raised by the...
-
Caregiving for a Companion Animal Compared to a Family Member: Burden and Positive Experiences in Caregivers
| Contributor(s):: Karysa Britton, Rachel Galioto, Geoffrey Tremont, Kimberly Chapman, Olivia Hogue, Mark D. Carlson, Mary Beth Spitznagel
Introduction: Research in human caregiving shows burden is often present in the caregiver and can be reduced by interventions that increase positive perceptions of caregiving. Recent work suggests burden is also present in owners of a seriously ill companion animal. To help determine if...
