With the advent of the COVID pandemic and associated stressors, there is an increased need for strategies to support mental health, stress management, and coping skills.1 The biopsychosocial benefits of human-Animal interaction have been identified as a protective factor for mental health and stress during the pandemic.2 Through incorporating intentional interactions with companion animals in the use of three widely recognized evidence-based coping skills—grounding, relating, and reframing—the GRR Method is delineated as a coping strategy. The GRR Method is not an evidenced-based practice or tested intervention, rather, it is a proposed application strategy for existing evidence-based coping skills through partnership and purposeful interaction with companion animals. Within this article, the human stress response is briefly reviewed to provide a framework in which to situate use of grounding, relating and reframing skills augmented by companion animal interaction. The GRR Method is presented and explicated as a One Health strategy that can benefit both people and animals; issues of animal welfare, consent, and enrichment are explicitly addressed.

Two hundred kindergarten and first grade students participated in a program to develop early literacy skills through horse interaction. The program uses a series of three-horse interaction experiences to increase motivation to read. During the introduction to the horse, students are provided with a copy of the book they will read over the next six weeks. The students participate in horse-focused activities over the next six weeks during regular classroom instruction along with practice time reading the book. At the end of the program, students attend a field trip to a farm where they are invited to read aloud and engage in further interaction with horses as a reward for their work. Early literacy skills and literacy success indicators were measured through a pre-/post-test as well as qualitative data collected from teachers and parents. Results show statistically significant increases in literacy indicators. Students also demonstrated an increase in horse knowledge.

Praca z traumą wymaga nawiązania solidnej relacji terapeutycznej, która ma na celu zaopiekowanie się z objawami traumy. Osoby z symptomami traumy często nie potrafią wykorzystać swoich umiejętności komunikacyjnych, są rozbite emocjonalnie co uniemożliwia im rozmowę z innymi i podjęcie terapii, w związku z tym wiele z nich rezygnuje z leczenia. Horse Assisted Education ( HAE), terapia wspierana przez konie wykorzystuje partnerstwo konia i człowieka, które prowadzi do zaangażowania i uczestnictwa w doświadczalnej i narracyjnej terapii traumy, prowadzącej do trwałej zmiany i wyzdrowienia. Niniejszy artykuł ilustruje model HAE w Polsce i jego zastosowanie w leczeniu objawów traumy. Trzy studia przypadków są wykorzystane do omówienia w jaki sposób partnerstwo człowieka i zwierzęcia sprzyja zaangażowaniu terapeutycznemu i ułatwia uczenie się poprzez doświadczenie oraz wgląd w symptomy traumy i powrót do zdrowia.

Equestrian sports vary in degree of human-animal bond and affiliation, from catch-ride to perceptions of ownership. The Modern Pentathlon has not garnered mainstream media coverage until the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Unfortunately, the rise in conversation and coverage was in response and reaction to poor horsemanship, negative behavior, and aggressive coaching. The events of the 2020 Modern Pentathlon were
profound in that they highlighted the extreme juxtaposition of competitions that focus on bonded relationships and catch-riding experiences. The implications are far reaching with increased critique of equestrian sports, transparency about the lack of riding training athletes engaged in prior to competition, and the omission of partnership between horse and rider. The Modern Pentathlon is discussed in the context
of the human-equine bond. The standards for equine welfare and wellbeing is considered in regard to the role of the rider in supporting their equine partner in the face of competition, including the implications of emotional distress in reaction to disappointment, and tragedy. Additionally, the role of riders when they are not engaged in the competitive sport (e.g., training and general care of their equine partners). Recommendations for the process and guidelines of the sport are delineated, as well as professional opportunities to strengthen the sport.

The UK homeless population is increasing. Companion animal ownership amongst homeless people is not uncommon, but the positive and negative consequences of this association for both humans and animals are unknown. We conducted semi-structured interviews with homeless dog owners covering how their dog impacted them, and how they met the dog’s welfare needs. Twenty-one homeless dog owners were recruited via a dog welfare charity that works with homeless people and their dogs. The interviews were
transcribed and analysed thematically. Dogs were reported to provide similar benefits to dogs owned in households, but additionally owner believed they helped facilitate routine, assisted them through mental health issues and provided continuous emotional support. Owners noted difficulties accessing long- and short-term accommodation, and services, such as shops, due to their dog, and generally only entrusted other individuals to look after their dog in urgent cases. All the dogs were reported to receive veterinary
care as needed, were treated against parasites, and fed adequately. The main concern expressed by owners was providing somewhere adequately warm and large for their dog to sleep, but we suggest access to a safe place to avoid frightening stimuli may also be important. During the interviews owners used the dog to facilitate discussion about themselves, allowing many to open-up about the difficulties of their past, and potential future. Our findings can be used to help direct how homeless charities can best help dog owners
in the future.

Zaobserwowanie pozytywnego wpływu obecności zwierząt i relacji z nimi na ludzi stało się powodem projektowania programów terapeutycznych i resocjalizacyjnych z ich udziałem. Tego rodzaju programy są więc wdrażane w domach opieki dla seniorów, w ramach terapii zajęciowej dla osób z niepełno sprawnościami oraz mając charakter resocjalizacyjny są także realizowane w więzieniach. Mają na celu wspieranie osadzonych we wzmacnianiu kompetencji społecznych takich jak empatia, odpowiedzialność, sprawna komunikacja, cierpliwość. Uczestnicy tych programów oceniają je pozytywnie wskazując na podniesienie subiektywnie odczuwanego dobrostanu. W tekście przedstawiam krótki rys historyczny wykorzystania relacji ze zwierzętami dla poprawiania stanu psycho-społecznego ludzi, korzyści płynące z takich programów oraz znaczenie tych programów w jednostkach penitencjarnych.

Cat overpopulation in Toronto, Canada, is a serious and growing problem. Small, and frequently isolated, groups of volunteers work in a variety of capacities to help mitigate the large numbers of litters produced by stray and feral cats. One such organisation is Toronto Street Cats. This volunteer group works with the help of the Toronto Humane Society to operate a monthly trap/neuter/release (TNR) programme. Groups of caretakers look after registered feral cat colonies and capture cats of breeding age. Once a month these
cats are sterilised, vaccinated, treated for parasites, and microchipped in an evening-long marathon. Volunteers in veterinary medicine (registered veterinary technicians [RVTs], veterinary assistants and veterinarians) comprise the medical staff who provide treatment and perform the assembly-line surgeries. Post-surgery, the cats are taken by the volunteers to a recovery facility and

The article is written from the first-person perspective as an autoethnographical attempt to describe the experience of loss of a pet companion, a cat, when the decision about euthanasia was challenged and undermined, causing regret and complex feelings about the situation. The author tries to provide explanation for her feelings and for veterinarian behavior, at the same time introducing new kind of veterinarian in-home services for palliative care and euthanasia.