Year: 2015

  • Having a dog in bed with you may help you sleep better!

    Mayo Clinic Sleep study discovered nearly half of pet owners reported they felt more rested with their animal in their bedroom than without!     Factors to Consider Regarding Where Companion Animals Should Sleep Guiding principle: The sleep of the pet owner takes priority over loyalty to the pet: How well does the pet owner […]

  • Homeless people and their pets share unbreakable love

    Many homeless insist that “their animal companion is their best friend and oxygen without whom life wouldn’t be worth living.” What pets need most is human companionship, they don’t need a house. They love, adore and protect their owners. Pets offer a vital relationship to many homeless individuals. They provide unconditional love and friendship to […]

  • Blind Service Dog’s Smile Brightens The Lives Of Others

    Born without sight, Smiley serves up a smile and hope to those who need it most! Bright and perky therapy dogs are a common sight at many nursing homes. They bring a smile to the faces of those no longer able to communicate and joy to the hearts of care-givers. But what if said therapy dog […]

  • Pets & Health: Family Physician Survey (USA)

    The Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation partnered with Cohen Research Group to conduct an online panel survey of 1,000 family doctors and general practitioners. This is the largest survey of its kind to explore doctors’ knowledge and attitudes towards the human health benefits of pets. 28-question survey was conducted in Aug 2014 with 3.1% […]

  • Human Animal Bond Research Initiative Foundation Accepting Proposals

    DEADLINE: JAN 27, 2016 The vision of the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative Foundation (HABRI) is to demonstrate that our relationship with pets and animals makes the world a better place by significantly improving human health and quality of life. HABRI does this by advancing the growing body of evidence about the positive roles that […]

  • Dogs poop in line with Earth’s magnetic field

    A study published this week in the journal Frontiers in Zoology suggests that dogs choose to relieve themselves along a north-south axis in line with Earth’s magnetic field. The research was carried out by a team of Czech and German scientists. “Dogs are sensitive to small variations of the Earth’s magnetic field,” said the research team. “Dogs preferred to excrete […]

  • Australian Customs & Border Protection Service – Detector Dog Program – A Case Study

    Summary The development and application of a scientifically based method of selective breeding for needed traits in detector dogs has enabled the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service to overcome the severe limitations of the opportunistic method of obtaining detector dogs which had previously been used.  The success of the program has not only enabled […]

  • Australia’s first dedicated dog behaviour and cognition laboratory

    Questions that have dogged humans for decades about the behaviour of their canine companions could soon be answered in Bendigo. Australia’s first dedicated dog behaviour and cognition laboratory has opened at Latrobe University, Bendigo. The lab will allow the university’s researchers to advance the world’s knowledge of man’s best friend. They are already hot on […]

  • New technology helps handlers monitor health, well-being of guide dogs

    Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a device that allows people who are blind to monitor their guide dogs, in order to keep tabs on the health and well-being of their canine companions. The work was led by Sean Mealin, a PhD student at NC State, who is blind. This photo shows Mealin […]

  • Man Risks Radiation Poisoning to Save Fukushima’s Abandoned Animals

    Naoto Matsumura is the last person living in Tomioka, Japan. The area was devastated after the disasters at the Fukushima power plant, causing almost all of its residents to flee. They never returned, so now he is taking care of all the animals still living there. According to BBC News, a man by the name […]