Animal Assisted Interventions: Recognizing and Mitigating Potential Welfare Challenges

This is a practical book exploring how to conduct animal assisted intervention (AAI) in ways that protect and prioritize animal and human welfare. This resource is for social scientists (e.g., psychology, social work, human development and family studies, etc.), as well as ethologists and animal behaviour and welfare students and practitioners. The book is a series of short chapters that depict a wide array of AAIs and their potential welfare concerns. The chapters include descriptions of the AAI offered, the welfare challenges, and ways to successfully mitigate these challenges. This book also covers critical topics including therapy animals' aging, retirement, and death as well as ethical issues including animal consent. Species include not only dogs, but horses, rabbits, and other small animals (e.g., guinea pigs, mice, etc.). Types of AAI involve individual interventions as well as crisis dogs (those who help after natural and man-made disasters), and residential animals. The book is designed to be a practical, engaging book with links to video and examples of real-life situations. It is evidence-based, yet user-friendly and directly applicable to students and practitioners. This highly practical and engaging book with examples of real life situations, videos and case studies, explores how to conduct animal assisted interventions in ways that protect and prioritize animal and human welfare. The book: · Explores how to conduct animal assisted intervention (AAI) in ways that protect and prioritize animal and human welfare. · Discusses potential welfare challenges including how to advocate for the animal, animal consent, and the animal's aging, retirement, or death. · Evidence based approach to mitigating welfare concerns for a wide range of therapy animals including dogs, horses, rabbits, rodents, and exotic animals - and their recipients. An invaluable resource for ethologists and animal behaviour and welfare students and practitioners, as well as social scientists (e.g., psychology, social work, human development and family studies).

Lori Kogan, Ph.D. is a Professor of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University. She is the Chair of the Human-Animal Interaction section of the American Psychological Association and Editor of the Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin, an open-access, online publication supported by the American Psychological Association. She has published numerous journal articles and book chapters, and co-edited books including 'Pet Loss, Grief, and Therapeutic Interventions: Practitioners Navigating the Human-Animal Bond', 'Clinician's Guide to Treating Companion Animal Issues: Addressing Human-Animal Interaction' and 'Career Paths in Human-Animal Interaction for Social and Behavioral Scientists' and given invited presentations on topics related to human animal interactions in both psychology and veterinary medicine venues. She is currently engaged in several research projects pertaining to the intersection of the human animal bond and veterinary medicine.