The holiday season is upon us again, with its typical spectrum of emotions from joy and happiness to grief and despair. Perhaps these emotions are also amplified by issues unique to 2020, such as the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice in the U.S. There are also many aspects of the holidays that might be experienced as stressful by a dog or any companion animal species.
Shanti Hill-Gauer earned her MSW and AASW certificate in 2013 and is now the owner and clinical director of the Wish Fulfilling Tree – Therapeutic Ranch. The Wish Fulfilling Tree provides animal-assisted therapy services to youth in Sonoma County, California.
Rachel Pletcher completed Animals and Human Health in 2018 which has allowed her to develop and implement an animal-assisted therapy program for her child welfare organization.
The Institute for Human-Animal Connection offers Research Fellowship for individuals with their MSW who are interested in receiving robust training in social science research with a focus on the Human-Animal-Environment Interaction field.
Lisa Daigle is the founder of Savannah's Place, a sanctuary providing mindfulness, advocacy, and wellness for equines and a 2015 graduate of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection's (IHAC) Animals and Human Health (AHH) Certificate program. She's recently enrolled in another IHAC certificate program to benefit her local community and the animals at the sanctuary.
With so much information out there, we did a round-up of the latest recommendations as of March 18, 2019 for companion and service animals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our sources include: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), The Humane Society of the United States, and NEADS World Class Service Dogs.
Please visit the University of Denver’s COVID-19 website for additional information.
Adam Clark is a Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) graduate from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work where he received his Animal-Assisted Social Work (AASW) Certification through the Institute for Human-Animal Connection and specialized in Family Systems work. After graduating Adam focused his career on grief and loss, with a specialization in understanding pet loss and its effect on human-animal relationships.
At the Institute for Human–Animal Connection, American Humane Endowed Chair Kevin Morris is working to improve animal and human welfare through more rigorous research.
