Category Archives: Human-Animal Bond

SCAS publications available for purchase

Leave a Reply

Two popular SCAS publications “Children and Pets” and “Older People and Pets” are once again available for purchase through our website.

“Older People and Pets: A Comprehensive Guide” (2005)

Older People and Pets smCompiled by SCAS, this book provides an invaluable resource for anyone who is concerned about the well-being of older people, including health and social care professionals, veterinary staff and housing providers.

The reader is given insight into how companion animals improve health, provide social support and enhance the quality of life for older people in different settings – those living in the community as well as those in sheltered housing and residential care homes – and in different ways.  The book addresses a wide range of key issues, from animal-assisted therapy programmes, to the challenges faced by older pet owners moving into sheltered housing, to the impact of pet loss for older people.  The book contains some very useful guidelines on pet policy for housing providers and staff working in institutions.

Price £12.50 + P&P

Purchase "Pets and Children" a book published by SCAS

“Children and Pets: A guide for parents, teachers and therapists” (2003)

Parents have for many years recognised the benefits of pets for their children, but it is only in the last thirty years that the significant health and social benefits associated with animal companionship have been scientifically confirmed.  We now have a greater understanding of the special bond that exists between children and companion animals and how this bond supports children in different ways throughout life.

SCAS realised that much of the information and research on child-animal interactions would be of immense value to those responsible for children and who work with children.  Members of SCAS, experts in their respective fields, have collaborated to produce this publication, which will provide an informative, accessible guide to developing positive interactions between pets and children.

Price £5.99 + P&P

We also have a number of books and booklets available for purchase relating to pet bereavement support including:

 

ASI-WAS Undergraduate Paper Prize – Due August 1

Leave a Reply

The Animals and Society Institute (ASI) and Wesleyan Animal Studies (WAS) invite applications for the second annual undergraduate prize competition for undergraduate students pursuing research in Human-Animal Studies.

ASI and WAS will award a prize to an outstanding, original theoretical or empirical scholarly work that advances the field of human-animal studies. Papers can come from any undergraduate discipline in the humanities, social sciences or natural sciences, and must be between 4,000-7,000 words long, including abstract and references. The winning paper will be published in Society & Animals, aninterdisciplinary journal that publishes articles describing and analyzing experiences of and with non-human animals. Topics can include human-animal interactions in various settings (animal cruelty, the therapeutic uses of animals), the applied uses of animals (research, education, medicine and agriculture), the use of animals in popular culture (e.g. dog-fighting, circus, animal companion, animal research), attitudes toward animals as affected by different socializing agencies and strategies, representations of animals in literature, the history of the domestication of animals, the politics of animal welfare, and the constitution of the animal rights movement.

Eligibility

Applicants must be currently enrolled on a full or part-time basis in an academic program at a college or university, or have graduated from a college or university within the 12 months of the application. Prior first place winners are ineligible, as are papers that have won prizes in other competitions. Students may submit only one paper per year for consideration. Submissions are encouraged from the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences, and must deal explicitly with non-human animals and/or the human-animal relationship. Students are responsible for keeping prize coordinator updated with current contact information.  If student cannot be contacted, the prize is forfeited.

Application Specifications

  • Cover sheet with the applicant’s name, mailing address to be used for future correspondence, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, present rank and institution name.
  • Paper must be 4,000-7,000 words long, including a one paragraph abstract and references.
  • The first page should include the title of the paper and the author’s name.  The next manuscript page should include the title and a 200-word abstract.
  • Papers should be submitted electronically along with a letter by the student’s faculty sponsor, on school letterhead, verifying their enrollment status as a full-time or part-time student, or a student enrolled the previous year (all in electronic format).

Selection Process

The selection committee includes members from a range of disciplines connected to Human-Animal Studies, including editors from Society & Animals. Entries will be rated according to criteria associated with the quality of conceptualization, significance of topic, clarity and aptness of the methods (when applicable), quality of writing, command of relevant work in the field, originality, and contribution to Human-Animal Studies.

Awards

  • Winning paper will be published in an issue of Society & Animals
  • Next two papers will get honorable mentions and have their abstracts published in Society & Animals
  • All three winners will receive a book of their choice from ASI’s Human-Animal Studies book series published by Brill
  • Winning papers will be announced on the ASI and WAS websites, and in e-newsletters and other publications. The Committee may decide that no entry meets qualifications as prize winner.

Submission Deadline: August 1, 2013

Applicants should email electronic copies of the paper and cover sheet to paperprize@animalsandsociety.org by the deadline.

Pets in the Crossfire of Family Violence – Video

Leave a Reply

“Pets in the Crossfire of Family Violence,” a one-hour video featuring numerous Link authorities, was aired by Twin Cities Public Television and has been made available to watch free online.

The video, seen below, is compiled from a Link conference at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and discusses the evolving role of pets in society, the links between animal abuse and human violence, child abuse/animal abuse connections, and domestic violence/animal abuse links.

The video is built around a presentation by Phil Arkow, with commentaries by Link authorities Diane
Balkin and Jane Hunt, plus experts from family & children’s services, animal-assisted therapy, marriage and family counseling, human-animal bond, and the veterinary college.

For further information relating to to “The Link” between animal abuse and human violence please visit The National Link Coalition.

The effects of euthanasia on veterinary professionals.

Leave a Reply

iStock_000016048701XSmall

When delivering training to a wide variety of veterinary professionals on how to support clients through pet loss, it is clear to see that the effects of pet loss are also significant to those involved in the process as professionals.

It is only in more recent years that pet bereavement support has been included in the veterinary nursing curriculum and still we see many veterinary professionals struggling to deal with a part of their job that is significant on a daily basis and yet a minor focus in their training.  Having the responsibility of communicating and supporting traumatised and grieving pet owners is quite a weight to put on the shoulders of anyone who hasn’t received professional training in such areas.  

In addition there are aspects of pet loss that can acutely affect those involved when they are part of the team responsible for completing the euthanasia.  We often talk of responsibility grief in terms of an owner having to make that difficult decision to end their pet’s life but many of the emotional responses such as guilt, sadness, and anger may also be experienced by those who were present during the process itself.

A study by Vanessa Rohlf and Pauleen Bennett looking at a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  in professions that take part in euthanasia concluded that occurrence was minimal (less than 15%).  However, the fact that is might occur at all does raise the question of need for employers to risk assess in relation to impact on staff health as a result of working with euthanasia.

“A significant negative relationship was observed between satisfaction with social support and reported levels of stress, replicating previous studies indicating that social support acts as an effective buffer against stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Leavy, 1983). It was interesting that the highest perceived level of social support was attributed to pet animals, while the lowest perceived level of social support involved employers. Again, this is an area in which education programs for management may be required.

This study has several practical implications. First, it confirms perpetration induced traumatic stress as a valid avenue of study in animal workers.  Although almost all of the participants did not report clinically significant levels of euthanasia-related stress, those who did clearly require further research attention. That some individuals suffer perpetration-induced traumatic stress and others do not indicates the importance of examining risk and protective factors. Second, this study confirms that social support and work experience are important determinants of how well animal workers cope with euthanasia-related stress. Third, the study suggests that recruiters should canvas concern about animal death when appointing new staff, so that appropriate stress reduction measures can be implemented as required.”

The full report can be accessed here at Animals and Society: http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/560_s1332.pdf

For information on training in pet loss support please visit our training pages.  Whilst we are currently not taking enrollments on many of our courses following our organisational re-structure we intend to resume training activities soon.  You can also access our pet bereavement support for veterinary professionals webinar series.

Animal welfare in the National Curriculum – Get Involved.

Leave a Reply

A young boy holds a baby chickThe Government are currently consulting on changes to the National Curriculum. The RSPCA, PDSA and other animal welfare organisations are working to highlight the importance of children learning about the welfare needs of the animals that we share this world (and often our homes) with to promote kindness and understanding towards both wild and domesticated animals from an early age.

The government consultation closes on 16 April 2013 and the campaign needs as many people (particularly if you’re a parent or teacher) to respond as possible. 

It is worried that Government proposals will miss a vital opportunity to educate young people about their duty of care to all living creatures under human control, as set out in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. RSPCA would like to see the five welfare needs of animals explicitly included in the National Curriculum. They are:

  • The need for a suitable environment
  • The need for a suitable diet
  • The need to exhibit normal behaviour
  • The need to housed with or apart from other animals of the same species
  • The need to be protected from pain, injury or disease through regular access to a vet.

More information about this campaign and how you can get involved can be found at the RSPCA website

“Me and My Dog” – Radio 4 – A programme about young people and dogs

Leave a Reply

Yesterday our Chair, Elizabeth Ormerod, spoke on the Radio 4 programme “Me and My Dog”.  The programme looked at the relationship between young people and dog and Liz spoke specifically  about the benefits of animals for children and also about how dogs can have a very effective and mutually beneficial relationship with young offenders and prisoners.

Listen now (available until 7th April 2013)

Dog fighting and so-called ‘status’dogs for protection has increased the popularity of ‘bull-type’ breeds such as Staffordshire bull terriers, and their crosses, on urban housing estates. Nearly half the dogs rescued by Battersea Dogs Home are ‘staffies’ and can be more difficult to re-home.

Presenter Mike Embley discovers how an unlikely alliance between teenage offenders and unwanted or abused dogs can give them both a second chance.

In Britain, a number of initiatives are following the lead of American schemes like Project Pooch, which has proved successful in preventing re-offending and teaching teenage offenders to take responsibility for their behaviour – while also helping the better-trained dogs find new homes.

Mike meets animal organisations leading the way, like The Dogs Trust which works with young offenders who have been sentenced to community service. The charity is also about to start another programme inside Feltham Young Offender Institution, while a similar scheme is already underway in Polmont Prison in Scotland.

He also speaks to Scottish veterinarian Elizabeth Ormerod, chair of the Society for Companion Animal Studies, who believes such programmes give offenders hope for the future when they see dogs they have trained being re-homed as ‘model doggy citizens’. She believes interaction with dogs not only helps them understand animal behaviour but their own behaviour and the actions of others.

Producer: Sara Parker
A White Pebble production for BBC Radio 4.