Description: This presentation will explore the human-animal bond and what experience, research, and theory have shown to be the mutual benefits of human-animal relationships. Participants will learn about different types of working animals and their definitions, and think about the core ethical principles of mutual benefit in human-animal interaction. The session will survey various therapy animal registries, and discuss what questions to ask their representatives to help clinicians choose how their animal partner (and sometimes human partner!) is trained, tested, and insured. Finally, participants will consider some of the unique resources available to human health professionals from Pet Partners. Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to name at least four benefits of the human-animal bond Participants will be able to name the three core principles of a mutually beneficial human-animal relationship. Participants will be able to explain the difference between service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals.
Presenter Bio: Deborah Carr, MEd, has worked in animal-assisted interventions since 1997 and is a Pet Partner Instructor, Evaluator, Evaluator Instructor, and National Program Educator for Pet Partners—the leading national organization for animal-assisted interventions. Prior to her nine-year tenure as executive director of Utah Pet Partners, she spent over 30 years teaching students with disabilities and developing programs in animal-assisted interventions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and master’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Utah, later adding a certificate in Animals and Human Health from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work. |
