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Companion Animals

Research relating to cats, dogs, birds, and other companion animals including rescue, sheltering, adoptions, and population.

In the Spotlight

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Does the Attachment System Towards Owners Change in Aged Dogs?
The bond between humans and dogs has been well studied, yet researchers are always looking to explore new angles of the relationship to deepen our understanding. In this study, the authors examined the emotional bonds between older dogs and their human companions, to explore the type of attachment and see how it compares to bonds formed by younger dogs. Using a modified version of the "Strange Situation Test" and a salival cortisol sampling, the researchers looked at 50 dog/human groups, and found that aged dogs cope less efficiently with emotional distress. READ MORE

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Should Dogs and Cats be Given as Gifts?
For animal advocates, the idea of giving companion animals as gifts has long been considered a poor practice, that increases the likelihood that those same animals will be relinquished to shelters. However, the results from this U.S. study, suggests we should reconsider this notion, as the data gathered from various research shows that companion animals given as gifts actually have a lower relinquishment rate than others. This study, carried out by various ASPCA members, challenges the prevailing wisdom around animal adoptions, and offers companion animal advocates a potential new avenue to successfully place animals in forever homes, even if it goes against "common sense." READ MORE

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Chemical Sterilization: A Safe Alternative for Dogs?
In an effort to reduce stray dog populations, researchers are looking at the safety and effectiveness of chemical sterilization as an alternative to surgery. In this article, Raffaella Leoci looks at the use of calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2) as a chemical sterilization agent that could help to make neutering programs more cost and time efficient. With the right formula and application, CaCl2 is highly effective, and the author concludes it could be a major step forward in reducing dog overpopulation. READ MORE

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Pet Virginia Opossums and Skunks
In this information article from the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, Cathy Johnson-Delaney profiles Virginia opossums and skunks as potential pets, outlining their physical characteristics and personalities, as well as explaining the unique challenges encountered when keeping them as companion animals. Minimal attention is paid to how humans might happen to have acquired such species as companions. The author instead focuses on how to care for opossums and skunks, with the paper geared towards vets who may have to work with these animals. READ MORE

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Americans are Having Dogs Instead of Babies
In this article for Quartz Magazine, Roberto Ferdman draws a link between declining birth rates in the U.S. and the ever-increasing trend of people having small dogs as companion animals. Using statistics from the United States Department of Health, as well as Pets International and research firm Euromonitor, Ferdman finds that the numbers are rising and falling in tandem, and that demographic data suggests that they may be correlated. READ MORE

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Animal-Assisted Interventions: Making Better Use of the Human-Animal Bond
In this article promoting the One Health program, authors Daniel Mills and Sophie Hall offer a fairly comprehensive literature review outlining how companion animals are positive contributors to human health outcomes. One Health is described as "the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines — working locally, nationally, and globally — to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment." The authors chose to focus primarily on how companion animals can help humans, especially in relation to older people and children. They urge the larger medical community to see companion animals and therapy animals as not simply "novel" and "cost-effective" ways of improving human health, but as potentially serving a more serious role as "valuable contributors to human health and wellbeing and, as a result, society and the broader economy." READ MORE

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‘Never an It’: Intersubjectivity and the Creation of Animal Personhood in Animal Shelters
In this paper, Nicola Taylor asks sociologists to open themselves up to the further study of human-animal relationships, and specifically the way that identity and subjecthood is constructed across the human-animal dualism. Using two animal shelters from the U.K. as case studies, Taylor examines the way that animals living at those shelters are treated as persons and accorded personhood through the actions of shelter staff. Taking account of the processes of naming animals, as well as how individuals are placed into homes, Taylor shows that shelter staff take great consideration and labor in making sure that the animals in their care are taken seriously as individuals and persons. READ MORE

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Operation Catnip: Working Together to Reduce Free-Roaming Cat Populations Ethically and Effectively
In this well-researched editorial for The Veterinary Journal, Annette Litster presents a strong case for the support of trap-neuter-vaccinate-return programs, which she argues is the best method for both controlling and moderating free-roaming cat populations. Addressing issues such as the effectiveness of lethal animal control methods, human abandonment of cats, and the contention that free-roaming cats are a threat to avian species conservation, Litster discusses each aspect in turn and provides compelling evidence that non-lethal programs are the best possible solution. READ MORE

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Factors Affecting the Human Interpretation of Dog Behavior
This study from Sweden examines the effect of empathy on how humans interpret animal behavior, and specifically how veterinary students interpret the behavior of dogs. Using a combination of written questions and video footage, the researchers sought to determine what factors contribute to the perception of dogs as "aggressive" among vet students. The results of the study suggest that feelings of empathy and interpretations of aggression are (perhaps not surprisingly) negatively correlated, but also that an individual's claims of knowledge about an animal do not necessarily mean that person will correctly interpret that animal's behavior or feel increased empathy towards them. READ MORE
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