New Directions in the Human-Animal Bond – serie

Pets play a greater role in our emotional and physical health than ever before, says the Purdue University professor who is co-author of his revised edition of Between Pets and People: The Importance of Animal Companionship. The book by Alan M. Beck of Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine and Aaron H. Katcher, psychiatrist and professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, explores the emotional and physical benefits of owning a pet and analyzes the complex relationship between people and pets. "The study of the importance of the relationship between people and animals is a growing field and has the potential to be part of the whole human-health field," says Beck, director of Purdue's Center for Applied Ethology and Human-Animal Interaction. "The social milieu on where animals fit into society has really changed in the last 13 years. We've gone from recognizing the potential of animals being a significant positive contribution to certain populations, such as the elderly, to actual documentation." Beck and Katcher note a 1992 study by an Australian cardiologist of 5,000 people who visited a clinic to find ways to reduce heart disease. The study found that people with pets had lower blood pressure and lower blood fat levels than those without pets, even though the two groups were alike in diet and exercise. The authors also point to the trend by nursing homes to incorporate animals into the routine and environment for patients. For example, in the early 1980s nursing homes typically did not allow pets to visit patients, while today nearly half of the homes have an organized program for animal therapy, Beck says. In addition to exploring physical benefits, the book covers such topics as pets as family members, pets as therapists, talking to pets, and how pets can teach us to become better companions to friends and family. The book also has a list of Web sites by such organizations as Canine Companions for Independence and the American Kennel Club. While pets provide health benefits, they can create problems, Beck and Katcher say. "There is no medicine that doesn't have some side effects," Beck says. For example, more pet ownership has public-health implications such as more dog bites, he notes. And some people whose pets die grieve to the point of illness, he says. But grief over the loss of an animal is not new, Beck says. Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows after their cats died, and the Roman emperor Caligula had his horse entombed.

Written in consultation with canine handlers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, staff from the American Academy on Veterinary Disaster Medicine, and the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, this book provides dog owners, handlers, emergency workers, and veterinary medical and technical students with a practical guide for the safe treatment of a dog in extraordinary situations when veterinary help is unavailable. With concise, easy-to-read instructions and colour illustrations, in a convenient format, it covers such medical procedures as bandaging an ear, splinting a leg, removing foreign objects from the eyes, and constructing a makeshift muzzle.

The landscapes of violence have become too familiar, too close to home. Despite decades of scientific research, we are only beginning to understand the roots of violence that connect child maltreatment, spouse and partner abuse, and aggression in our neighborhoods and communities. Cruelty to animals is often part of these landscapes of violence – at times, a strong link to destructive interpersonal relationships. Research on this link has recently received increased attention. However, the layperson, student, and professional interested in this link often face the daunting task of locating the critical references in this area of inquiry. Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence presents in one volume historical, philosophical, and research sources that explore the maltreatment of animals and the ways people hurt each other. Diverse disciplines are represented among the readings, including psychology and psychiatry, criminology, social work, veterinary science, and anthropology. A bibliography of related books and articles is provided for readers who wish to pursue this topic in greater detail.

This volume is a collection of chapters all contributed by individuals who have presented their ideas at conferences and who take moderate stands with the use of animals in research. Specifically, the chapters discuss issues of: notions of the moral standings of animals, history of the methods of argumentation, knowledge of the animal mind, nature and value of regulatory structures, how respect for animals can be converted from theory to action in the laboratory. The chapters have been tempered by open discussion with individuals with different opinions and not audiences of true believers. It is the hope of all, that careful consideration of the positions in these chapters will leave reader with a deepened understanding – not necessarily a hardened position.

The professional communities of psychologists and child welfare specialists to a deeper, higher and more encompassing awareness and understanding of the crucial linking of caring for animals and children in human experience. The combination of careful research, documentation, and compelling narrative accounts are blended into a rich resource to help professionals and concerned citizens and parents understand how the ethics of caring are not bounded by species. Educators, clergy, coaches, law enforcement, and mental health workers, parents, students of developmental science.

Brood Bitch is a mother's reflection inspired by her hand-raising a litter of Pembroke Welsh corgis whose own mother died after a Caesarian delivery. Devastated by the loss of her only companion and awed by the task of saving the puppies, the narrator is surprised to discover she enjoys this exclusive commitment. Her education, career, marriage, and mothering are all behind her: she is retired, her ex-husband is dead, her daughter is independent. She broods on these past commitments - usually conflicted - in light of her success doing the job of a canine mother. Parallels between the birth and care of the puppies and her daughter keep coming to her consciousness, helping her to understand her sense of failure as a human mother. This is not what she expected when she began showing and breeding corgis. It was a hobby she cultivated in middle age when she was well established in her job but uncertain as a single mother, one that incorporated her love of dogs, her need of an interest outside her profession, and her desire to give up the dating game. Most of all she wanted it to provide a bonding experience with her daughter. It did not, at least at the time. The bond with corgis outlives all others, ironically through the death of her brood bitch, when she is bound exclusively to the puppies. Nurturing them leads to profound introspection, which eventually heals the pain of her insecure mothering. Beyond that it enables her to appreciate the vast scope of motherhood in both corgis and women - its variations, illusions, ideals, realities, frustrations, rewards. The narrator realizes that she is a mother for life. Even her bitch was, for two hours, during which she never saw her babies. Having mothered them so happily herself and bonded so closely with the one she kept, she is able to forge a bond with her daughter through links to their pas that extend into the present. This is a slow process that may take most of a life relived, but rearing the puppies makes it possible for her. Her final recompense is a guarded hope that the lovely young bitch, who never knew her natural mother, will succeed in the role and provide them both with a corgi companion for the rest of their lives. It becomes a reality under conditions even more rewarding than her mothering of this brood bitch because she now recognizes so many of the complications of motherhood. She at last observes a mother superior, whose existence among women requires a vow of celibacy.

A Perfect Harmony: The Intertwining Lives of Animals and Humans throughout History is an informative, insightful history of animal domestication through the ages, by late ASPCA president Robert Caras, author of numerous fine works on pets and wildlife. As Caras defines it, domestication is "the shaping of a species by man, using selective breeding to replace natural selection." By studiously reviewing the origins and probable methods of domestication and the ancestry of all manner of animals, from goats and horses in the Stone Age to camels and elephants around 4000 B.C., to ferrets and cats in more recent years, Caras explains how "animals have played a vital role in man's evolutionary course."

This study of dog ecology (and behaviour) and of human ecology (and behaviour) discusses the facets of the phenomenon of the urban free-roaming dog. It provides information for students who wish to embark on studies of wild canines.

Although The Bahamas is not alone, either in the Caribbean, or elsewhere in having a pet over-population problem, this publication appears to be the first to provide a systematic study of dog ownership in a Caribbean society. The dog population in The Bahamas consists mainly of mongrels called "potcakes" – a term unique to the greater Bahama archipelago. The fact that Bahamians have lived with potcakes so long has given them an accepted place in society, and they are considered part of the country's heritage. The word "potcake" has entered common usage and has evolved to have associations beyond that with dogs. The Bahamian perceptions of "pet" and "responsible pet ownership" are discussed to allow surveys of perceptions of residents towards dogs and attitudes towards the sterilization of pets to be understood in context. Dog bite data is examined over the last decade and considered in the light of the ever-increasing number of "image" dogs such as rottweilers, German shepherds, and pit bulls which are seen at veterinary clinics and interact with the potcake population. The final chapter draws the threads together from previous sections to show how all members of society, dog owners, non-dog owners, and the authorities, need to work together in order for the dog population to be controlled and dog welfare enhanced.

A child can't be owned, but parents are legally responsible for their child's care. A painting and a dog can be owned; both fall under the jurisdiction of the law and in particular, property rights. But why should a dog, man's best friend, an animal with a mind and emotions, fall under the same category as a painting? How could the law be so foolish? Requiring legal guardianship for animals would have radical consequences for how we live our lives.

Animal abuse has been an acknowledged problem for centuries, but only within the past few decades has scientific research provided evidence that the maltreatment of animals often overlaps with violence toward people. The variants of violence, including bullying or assaults in a schoolyard, child abuse in homes, violence between adult intimate partners, community hostility in our streets and neighborhoods, and even the context of war, are now the subject of concerted research efforts. Very often, the association of these forms of violence with cruelty to animals has been found. The perpetrators of such inhumane treatment are often children and adolescents. How common are these incidents? What motivates human maltreatment of animals? Are there cultural, societal, neighborhood, and family contexts that contribute to cruelty to animals? How early in a child's life does cruelty to animals emerge and are these incidents always a sign of future interpersonal violence? Are there ways of preventing such cruelty? Can we intervene effectively with children who already have a history of abuse and violence? Children and Animals: Exploring the Roots of Kindness and Cruelty presents the current scientific and professional wisdom about the relation between the maltreatment of animals and interpersonal violence directed toward other human beings. However, the author, Frank R. Ascione, a noted expert in these areas, writes in a style and presents the findings in language that will be understandable to parents, teachers, counselors, clergy, animal welfare professionals, foster parents, mental health professionals, youth workers, law enforcement professionals, and any one else whose work or interest crosses into the lives of children and adolescents.

This book gathers, in one place, those measures presently used to study the human-companion animal bond. The measures chosen for inclusion are the most heavily used by researchers, as well as measures that appear to be innovative or relate to the different aspects of the human-companion animal relationship. The measures cover the human-animal bond principally by attachment, but also by fear, abuse, or neglect.

What role does an animal play in a child's developing sense of self? Are children and animals interacting in ways no longer recognizable to adults? The Significance of Children and Animals addresses these and other intriguing questions by revealing the interconnected lives of the inhabitants of the preschool classroom - an environment abounding in childish verbal and nonverbal interactions with birds, turtles, toads, birds, bugs, and other creatures. Regarded as a pivotal analysis of child-animal interaction with wider implications for human-animal studies, the original 1998 edition has been revised here to incorporate the recent literature, while preserving the basic nature of the text. This book provides a delightful and rewarding opportunity for parents, educators, and students of early childhood social development, as well as scholars of the intersection of human experience and the natural environment.

The Sacrifice provides a uniquely detailed account of the sociological context of animal experimentation. The authors provide a rich analysis of complex and changing role of the laboratory animal in the political and scientific culture of the United States and the United Kingdom. By understanding the interplay of the groups, the authors view the experimental controversy as an ongoing and constantly recreated set of social processes, not just a problem of morality.

Brute Force looks at people having the most contact with everyday animal abuse- humane law enforcement officers who are charged with enforcing anti-cruelty statutes. The author spent one year studying 30 animal cops and dispatchers in two large cities. They see themselves as a power for the helpless, a voice for the mute. On-the-job experience changes this view. Rather than fighting the good fight against egregious cases of cruelty, they are overwhelmed with complaints that are ambiguous and must be stretched to qualify as legally defined abuse or with complaints barking dogs or thin pets that are used in interpersonal disputes to get neighbors or spouses into trouble. Even more discouraging to officers are clear-cut and extreme cases of cruelty that do not lead to guilty verdicts or stiff penalties in court. Resulting cynicism is aggravated when rookies realize that they are seen as second-rate wannabe cops or closet animal extremists. With little legitimate authority to enforce the law, animal cops become humane educators who try to make people into responsible pet owners.

The Mark of the Beast historically and critically examines the dire effects of the process of animalization on both humans and animals. Roberts provides a general account of the theoretical division between humans and animals begun largely in the work of Aristotle and continued in that of Descartes and Kant. Following the philosophical provenance of the idea of animality, Roberts explores the practical and "scientific" uses of this idea, focusing largely on what Stephen J. Gould terms the "biodeterministic tradition" by evaluating the primarily ninteenth century theories of atavism, craniology, recapitulation, and so on, while also exploring the use of medical and psychological techniques of animalization.

It's hard to imagine eight million people trying to avoid dog refuse on the streets of New York City on a daily basis. Likewise, it's harder not to imagine New Yorkers from all walks of life picking up after their canines. Using plastic bags or trendy, mechanized devices, pet owners have become a unified force in cleaning up the sidewalks of the Big Apple. Not long ago, picking up after your Poodle, Puli, or Pekinese was not a basic, civic duty. Initially, many politicians thought the idea was absurd. Animal rights activists were unanimously opposed. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the proposed legislation because it would impose undue hardship on dog owners. New York's Poop Scoop Law chronicles the integration of dog owners, a much-maligned subculture, into mainstream society by tracing the history of the legislation that the York's City Council shelved twice before then Mayor Ed Koch was forced to go to the state level for support. Brandow shows how a combination of science and politics, fact and fear, altruism and self-interest led to the adoption and enforcement of legislation that became a shining success. Mayors from around the globe were baffled and wanted to know how pushy and arrogant New Yorkers found the new initiative practical and trendy.

Inside Animal Hoarding: The Story of Barbara Erickson and Her 552 Dogs profiles one of the largest and most intriguing cases of animal hoarding in recent history. Celeste Killeen's investigation pries open the door to Barbara Erickson's hidden and closely guarded life, offering an in-depth view of animal hoarding. The chaos and torment discovered by local officials who'd responded to a ramshackle farmhouse in eastern Oregon was described as otherworldly, unbelievable. But, it was only the sad ending to a lifelong story of betrayal, abuse and abandonment. This in-depth look at how animal hoarding developed in one woman's life offers the rich detail and context so important in understanding how to recognize and respond to it and maybe even prevent it. Dr. Arnold Arluke's discussion follows the Erickson story with current research on animal hoarding and how it ties into the Erickson case. Drawing from his background in sociology and extensive study of the human/animal relationship, Arluke offers further insight about animal hoarders, how they see themselves, how society deals with them, and why people find them so perplexing. This integration of investigative journalism and scholarship offers a fresh approach with appeal to a broad audience of readers, those new to learning about the phenomenon and those with first-hand experience in the animal welfare field.

Animals in Schools explores important questions in the field of critical animal studies and education by close examination of a wide range of educational situations and classroom activities. How are human-animal relations expressed and discussed in school? How do teachers and students develop strategies to handle ethical conflicts arising from the ascribed position of animals as accessible to human control, use, and killing? How do schools deal with topics such as zoos, hunting, and meat consumption? These are questions that have profound implications for education and society. They are graphically described, discussed and rendered problematic based on detailed ethnographic research and are analyzed by means of a synthesis of perspectives from critical theory, gender and postcolonial thought. Animals in Schools makes human-animal relations a crucial issue for pedagogical theory and practice. In the various physical and social dimensions of the school environment, a diversity of social representations of animals are produced and reproduced. These representations tell stories about human-animal boundaries and identities and bring to the fore a complex of questions about domination and subordination, normativity and deviance, rationality and empathy as well as possibilities of resistance and change.

This book is the first of its kind to discuss in detail the actual management of local animal control programs as opposed to the care of the animals. The book covers those financial, personnel, legal and health and safety issues that animal control directors and management staff need to know in providing direction and oversight of animal control programs. Chapters examine selected topics in which the author assesses the strengths and weaknesses, offers new insights and strategies for managing more effectively. For example, the two chapters on contracting, discuss the steps in the process, strategies, and suggested provisions in the written agreement to make the program more effective. The animal law chapters explain the basis for the laws, but also highlight those provisions that if enacted into law, can strengthen enforcement options. The chapter on budget and revenues explains funding variations among programs and how local officials have been creative in financing these programs. Subjects addressed in this book include many recently recognized as vital to the management of animal control programs. They include: need for websites, use of program evaluations, and the value of forms, records and reports. In addition, the author discusses and assesses from a new perspective: interacting with the public and the media, liability issues, wildlife problems, and the politics of animal control.

What happens behind the doors of the animal shelter? This book will introduce the reader to the work culture of animal shelter employees, volunteers, activists, educators, and pets. By weaving together her own personal memoirs with interviews with workers, the author describes the traditions, philosophies, history, and current social dynamics of a typical animal welfare community. She examines how the daily interactions, personal philosophies, disparate methods, technology, and life experiences of the humans and pets influence the care of homeless animals, often playing an intricate role in the life or death situation each pet eventually faces.

Dogs know when we are feeling down. They love it when we are happy and seeking friendship and fun, and they understand when we are feeling sad and desperate. This book presents a series of real-life tales of the positive effects dogs have had on people at the end of their lives, chronicling the visits by two therapy dogs, Woody and Katie, to patients in a south Florida hospice facility. Through twenty-one stories, infused with humour amidst the sadness, Michelle Rivera, an experienced animal therapist, explores the many ways in which animals can ease human suffering. Her book begins with the deeply personal story of her own mother Katherine's illness and dying appeal to have the company of a dog and proceeds to tell the stories of patients young and old who the author was inspired to visit with her 'hospice hounds'. As well as demonstrating many of the techniques of animal therapy, Rivera argues powerfully that not allowing pets in health care facilities is a counterproductive policy that deprives patients of comfort at the time they need it most. Some of the stories were previously published in ""Hospice Hounds"" (2001), but the author has substantially expanded her introduction and added an invaluable final section that gives practical tips on training and certifying your dog to be a therapy animal.

Mention the words 'Seeing Eye', and most people will associate them with guide dogs for the blind and partially-sighted. Mention the name 'Dorothy Harrison Eustis', and most people will not recognize it, even though she is the woman responsible for founding The Seeing Eye, the first guide dog school in the United States. Since its inception eighty years ago, The Seeing Eye has trained thousands of people who are visually impaired to use guide dogs. The success of the program has spawned guide dog schools across the country and around the world, and the concept has been further expanded to include service dogs for people with other kinds of disabilities. Drawing on correspondence, private papers, and newspaper accounts of the day, Miriam Ascarelli chronicles the life of Dorothy Harrison Eustis from her upper class childhood in Victorian Philadelphia to her years as a young mother in the upstate New York boomtown of Hoosick Falls, her widowhood, her failed second marriage to a man thirteen years her junior, and the confluence of events that led to her launching The Seeing Eye. In doing so, Ascarelli reveals both a driven woman and a very private person who shunned media coverage of herself but actively courted it for her organization.

Animal abuse as a predictor of abuse against humans has been documented extensively. Society's ever-rising violence has prompted experts to ask what alternatives are available to identify the early signs and stop the cycle. The International Handbook of Animal Abuse and Cruelty: Theory, Research, and Application is the authoritative, up-to-date compendium covering the historical, legal, research, and applied issues related to animal abuse and cruelty from scholars worldwide. It will be of value to psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, child welfare and domestic violence professionals, and animal welfare advocates, including veterinarians. Each chapter focuses on different but related aspect of animal abuse. The book provides fruitful areas of needed study and offers professionals contemporary reviews of the current state of our knowledge on animal abuse and its relation to other forms of human violence. The material will be of special value to readers interested in mental health issues across the life span as well as child development and developmental psychopathology.

The question of whether dogs should be allowed off the leash in public places has become a major political issue in cities and suburbs across the United States. In the last two decades, 'leash-law disputes' have burst upon the political scene and have been debated with an intensity usually reserved for such hot-button issues as abortion and gun rights. This book investigates what has changed in American community life, social mores, and the relationship between humans and dogs to provoke such passionate responses. At its heart, the book details and evaluates the handling of three leash-law disputes, all of which were exceedingly divisive and emotionally intense. Two of the cases took place in San Francisco, a city with a reputation as one of the most dog-friendly in the United States until 2001-2002, when officials curtailed off-leash walking. The other case study occurred in 1998 in Avon - a wealthy suburb of Hartford, Connecticut - when town officials unilaterally imposed a leash law at a popular off-leash park. This book is not only a revealing study of Americans' conflicted attitudes toward animals and the difficult balance between individual rights and the public good in our communities. It is also a useful source of information for both dog owners and local government officials who are faced with leash-law disagreements.

Green Chimneys is a nationally renowned US nonprofit organisation that helps improve the lives of at-risk urban children by incorporating animals and environmental activities into their educational experiences. Founded by Dr. Samuel (Rollo) B. Ross, Jr.,“Green Chimneys Farm for Little Folk” opened its doors in 1948 with just eleven students. The property has since expanded to cover nearly seven hundred fifty acres in New York, and the school now serves almost two hundred students. Recognised as a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and activities, Green Chimneys provides innovative and caring services for children and their families, as well as the animals with which they spend time. It targets its services at restoring emotional well-being and fostering independence. For over sixty years, Ross developed and operated this innovative and experimental year-round school, and he still remains integrally involved. This book recounts his experiences, sharing a lifetime of practical learning and insights to benefit and inspire all those who work with troubled children, and who believe in the healing power of the natural world.

Obesity is a national epidemic in the United States. It is estimated that by 2018 the cost of treating weight-related illnesses will double to almost $350 billion a year, while a 2010 report by the US Surgeon General estimates that two-thirds of American adults and almost one in three children are now overweight or obese. This volume originated in a special 2009 symposium funded in part by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and sponsorship from Mars WalthamA on how human-animal interaction may help fight obesity across the lifespan. The authors present scientific evidence about the benefits of dog walking for improving human and animal health, and case studies of programs that are using this powerful expression of the human-animal bond to combat obesity. The volume is especially valuable as a sourcebook of evidence-based studies for public health professionals treating overweight humans and veterinarians treating obese dogs.

A collaboration between an attorney and an animal protection advocate, this work utilises the extremely controversial and high-profile “crush video” case, US v. Stevens, to explore how American society attempts to balance the protection of free speech and the prevention of animal cruelty. Starting from the detailed case study of a single prominent ruling, the authors provide a masterful survey of important issues facing society in the area of animal welfare. The Stevens case included various “hot topic” elements connected to the role of government as arbiter of public morality, including judicial attitudes to sexual deviance and dogfighting.

For a happy relationship with your cat, go beyond the looks and make your pick based on demonstrated breed behavior. This is the advice of the Harts, two experts in animal communication and behavior, whose new book takes the process of selecting a cat to the next level by offering data-based behavioral profiles of a wide range of cat breeds. Developed over a lifetime of research and through extensive interviews with eighty veterinary experts, the profiles are presented in easy-to-use graphical form. A history of the development of different breeds is presented, and then breed-specific differences across a range of variables are discussed. These include twelve behavioral traits, in areas such as affection, sociality, activity level, and litter box use. After giving guidance about choosing a cat, the authors present some strategies for avoiding problem behaviors and resolving those that emerge. They also share fascinating theories about the origins of various common cat behaviors, including purring, yawning, eating grass, “flipping out” on catnip, and staking out territory. While the focus is on purebred cats, there is also lots of good information for owners of blends. The book ends with helpful guidance on further reading. Based on the latest science, this is a great book for anyone interested in the fundamental building blocks of feline behavior, and an invaluable handbook for cat owners.