Webinars

Abstract

Dr. James Serpell from the University of Pennsylvania was recently appointed President of SCAS. In this webinar, he joins Dr. Sandra McCune of SCAS to discuss his long-standing relationship with the charity—from co-founding it in 1979 to becoming its President in 2025. They explore how the charity and the field of Human-Animal Interaction/Animal-Assisted Services have evolved over the years. Dr. Serpell shares insights on the powerful and positive connection between people and pets, as well as the diverse topics he has researched during his distinguished career. He also reflects on the exciting opportunities now available in HAI research and practice, offering advice to students and early-career researchers interested in studying this field. Finally, he shares what he hopes to achieve as SCAS President.

Dr.  James Serpell is Emeritus Professor of Animal Welfare at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He received his BSc degree in Zoology from University College London, and his PhD in Animal Behavior from the University of Liverpool, UK. His research focuses on the behavior and welfare of dogs and cats, human attitudes to animals, and the history and psychology of human-animal relationships and interactions. He has published more than 200 articles and book chapters on these and related topics, and is the author, editor, or co-editor of several books including Animals & Human Society: Changing Perspectives (1994), In the Company of Animals (1996), Companion Animals & Us (2000), and The Domestic Dog (2016). In 2003, he created the C-BARQ—currently the world’s most widely used canine behavioural assessment instrument (http://www.cbarq.org), and, many years before that, helped to establish both the Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) and the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ). He was appointed as President of SCAS in 2025.

Dr Sandra McCune is currently a Visiting Professor of Human-Animal Interaction Studies at the University of Lincoln. She previously qualified as a registered Veterinary Nurse in Dublin followed by a Natural Sciences degree in Zoology at Trinity College Dublin before conducting her doctoral studies in cat behaviour & welfare at the University of Cambridge.

In her role at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute in the UK, she led global research teams studying cat and dog behaviour, animal cognition and the human-animal bond. For the last 3 years at Mars Petcare, she led scientific communications translating the science behind our special relationship with companion animals. In 2024, she was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant of Rutland.