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.

Trauma-informed care requires a sound therapeutic relationship to address trauma symptoms. People with trauma symptoms often cannot use their communication skills or do not possess the emotional stability to talk with others, and many drop out of treatment.  Horse Assisted Education employs a partnership of horse and humans which leads to engagement and participation in experiential and narrative trauma treatment leading to sustained change and recovery. This paper illustrates a model of Horse Assisted Education in Poland, its application in the treatment of trauma symptoms. Three case studies are used to discuss the ways in which the human-animal partnerships foster therapeutic engagement and facilitate experiential learning and insight into trauma symptoms and recovery.

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.

Positive opinions about impact that relations with animals have on participating humans were the main reason for introducing animal-based resocialization programs in correctional institutions. As form of occupational therapy, they aim at increasing and improving social and psychological skills of imprisoned individuals. They aim at creating and increasing empathy, improving communication and its effectiveness, building sense of responsibility and patience. Participants of such programs underline their positive impact on their well-being and subjective sense of wellness. In this text I present short history of using relations with animals in improving psychological and social competencies of humans. I discuss also positive effects of such programs for effectiveness of correctional institutions. 

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.