Animals (Aug 2022)
Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs
- Tiffani J. Howell,
- Leanne Nieforth,
- Clare Thomas-Pino,
- Lauren Samet,
- Sunday Agbonika,
- Francisca Cuevas-Pavincich,
- Nina Ekholm Fry,
- Kristine Hill,
- Brinda Jegatheesan,
- Miki Kakinuma,
- Maureen MacNamara,
- Sanna Mattila-Rautiainen,
- Andy Perry,
- Christine Y. Tardif-Williams,
- Elizabeth Ann Walsh,
- Melissa Winkle,
- Mariko Yamamoto,
- Rachel Yerbury,
- Vijay Rawat,
- Kathy Alm,
- Ashley Avci,
- Tanya Bailey,
- Hannah Baker,
- Pree Benton,
- Catherine Binney,
- Sara Boyle,
- Hagit Brandes,
- Alexa M. Carr,
- Wendy Coombe,
- Kendra Coulter,
- Audrey Darby,
- Lowri Davies,
- Esther Delisle,
- Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers,
- Angela Fournier,
- Marie Fox,
- Nancy Gee,
- Taryn M. Graham,
- Anne Hamilton-Bruce,
- Tia G. B. Hansen,
- Lynette Hart,
- Morag Heirs,
- Jade Hooper,
- Rachel Howe,
- Elizabeth Johnson,
- Melanie Jones,
- Christos Karagiannis,
- Emily Kieson,
- Sun-A Kim,
- Christine Kivlen,
- Beth Lanning,
- Helen Lewis,
- Deborah Linder,
- Dac Loc Mai,
- Chiara Mariti,
- Rebecca Mead,
- Gilly Mendes Ferreira,
- Debbie Ngai,
- Samantha O’Keeffe,
- Grainne O’Connor,
- Christine Olsen,
- Elizabeth Ormerod,
- Emma R. Power,
- Peggy A. Pritchard,
- Kerri Rodriguez,
- Deborah Rook,
- Matthew B. Ruby,
- Leah Schofield,
- Tania Signal,
- Jill Steel,
- Wendy Stone,
- Melissa Symonds,
- Diane van Rooy,
- Tiamat Warda,
- Monica Wilson,
- Janette Young,
- Pauleen Bennett
Affiliations
- Tiffani J. Howell
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia
- Leanne Nieforth
- OHAIRE, Comparative Pathobiology, Center for the Human Animal Bond, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
- Clare Thomas-Pino
- Human-Animal Interaction, Department of Animal and Agriculture, Hartpury University, Gloucester GL19 3BE, UK
- Lauren Samet
- Dogs Trust, London EC1V 7RQ, UK
- Sunday Agbonika
- Dogalov Human Support Initiative, Abuja 900108, Nigeria
- Francisca Cuevas-Pavincich
- Centro de Estudios en Bienestar y Convivencia Social, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago 7610658, Chile
- Nina Ekholm Fry
- Institute for Human-Animal Connection, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA
- Kristine Hill
- EASE Working Group, College of Social Sciences and International Studies, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
- Brinda Jegatheesan
- College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Miki Kakinuma
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Musashino, Tokyo 180-8602, Japan
- Maureen MacNamara
- Department of Social Work, Beaver College of Health Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28607, USA
- Sanna Mattila-Rautiainen
- Sports and Exercise Medicine, Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1, 70600 Kuopio, Finland
- Andy Perry
- Department of Anthrozoology, University of Exeter (alumnus), Exeter EX4 4PY, UK
- Christine Y. Tardif-Williams
- Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
- Elizabeth Ann Walsh
- Cork Pet Behaviour Centre, P85 YF58 Cork, Ireland
- Melissa Winkle
- Dogwood Therapy Services, Albuquerque, NM 87120, USA
- Mariko Yamamoto
- Department of Animal Sciences, Teikyo University of Science, Uenohara, Yamanashi 409-0193, Japan
- Rachel Yerbury
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
- Vijay Rawat
- School of Health, Medical & Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Kathy Alm
- Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, Denver, CO 80233, USA
- Ashley Avci
- Risk Frontiers, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia
- Tanya Bailey
- Boynton Health, Office of Student Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Hannah Baker
- University Centre Sparsholt, University of Winchester, Sparsholt, Winchester SO21 2NF, UK
- Pree Benton
- Dogs for Life, Caulfield South, VIC 3162, Australia
- Catherine Binney
- Halcyon CIC, Worcestershire WR5 3LF, UK
- Sara Boyle
- Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
- Hagit Brandes
- The Program for Animal-Assisted-Psychotherapy, Tel-Hai College, Upper Galilee 1220800, Israel
- Alexa M. Carr
- Department of Human Development, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
- Wendy Coombe
- Animal Therapies Ltd., Gold Coast, QLD 4209, Australia
- Kendra Coulter
- Management and Organizational Studies, Huron University College at Western University, London, ON N6G 1H3, Canada
- Audrey Darby
- Equine Therapy Unit, ChildVision National Education Centre for Blind Children, D09 WKOH Dublin, Ireland
- Lowri Davies
- Independent Researcher, Bedford MK40 2DU, UK
- Esther Delisle
- The Canadian Institute of Animal-Assisted Interventions, Montréal, QC H3V 1C7, Canada
- Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Open University the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands
- Angela Fournier
- Department of Psychology, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN 56601, USA
- Marie Fox
- School of Law & Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
- Nancy Gee
- Center for Human-Animal Interaction, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA
- Taryn M. Graham
- Independent Researcher, Toronto, ON M4E 3L9, Canada
- Anne Hamilton-Bruce
- Stroke Research Programme, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital & Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Woodville South, SA 5011, Australia
- Tia G. B. Hansen
- Center for Human Animal Psychology, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, 9000 Aalborg, Denmark
- Lynette Hart
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Morag Heirs
- Clinical Animal Behaviour, Well Connected Canine, York YO24 3HG, UK
- Jade Hooper
- Faculty of Social Science, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK
- Rachel Howe
- School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
- Elizabeth Johnson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas 89183, NV, USA
- Melanie Jones
- Orygen Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Christos Karagiannis
- Hellenic Institute of Canine & Feline Behaviour, 15122 Athens, Greece
- Emily Kieson
- MiMer Centre, 247 95 Torna Hallestad, Sweden
- Sun-A Kim
- Clinical Animal Behavior Service, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 28644, Korea
- Christine Kivlen
- Occupational Therapy, Health Care Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
- Beth Lanning
- Department of Public Health, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA
- Helen Lewis
- Department of Education and Childhood Studies, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
- Deborah Linder
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA
- Dac Loc Mai
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia
- Chiara Mariti
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
- Rebecca Mead
- Dogs Trust, London EC1V 7RQ, UK
- Gilly Mendes Ferreira
- Scottish SPCA (Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), Dunfermline KY11 8RY, UK
- Debbie Ngai
- Hong Kong Animal Assisted Therapy Association (HKAATA), Hong Kong, China
- Samantha O’Keeffe
- Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia
- Grainne O’Connor
- Independent Researcher, Cumbria CA17 4QD, UK
- Christine Olsen
- Dyrebar Omsorg AS, 1458 Fjellstrand, Norway
- Elizabeth Ormerod
- Society for Companion Animal Studies, Godmachester, Cambridgeshire PE29 2BQ, UK
- Emma R. Power
- Institute for Culture and Society, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
- Peggy A. Pritchard
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
- Kerri Rodriguez
- Human-Animal Bond in Colorado, School of Social Work, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA
- Deborah Rook
- Northumbria Law School, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
- Matthew B. Ruby
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia
- Leah Schofield
- Solihull College and University Centre, Solihull B91 1SB, UK
- Tania Signal
- School of Health, Medical & Applied Sciences, College of Psychology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD 4702, Australia
- Jill Steel
- Moray House School of Education and Sports Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ, UK
- Wendy Stone
- Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
- Melissa Symonds
- Faculty of Health, Education and Society, The University of Northampton, Northampton NN1 5PH, UK
- Diane van Rooy
- Independent Researcher, Sunbury, VIC 3429, Australia
- Tiamat Warda
- Institute for Human-Animal Connection, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA
- Monica Wilson
- School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
- Janette Young
- Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
- Pauleen Bennett
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151975
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12,
no. 15
p. 1975
Abstract
The nomenclature used to describe animals working in roles supporting people can be confusing. The same term may be used to describe different roles, or two terms may mean the same thing. This confusion is evident among researchers, practitioners, and end users. Because certain animal roles are provided with legal protections and/or government-funding support in some jurisdictions, it is necessary to clearly define the existing terms to avoid confusion. The aim of this paper is to provide operationalized definitions for nine terms, which would be useful in many world regions: “assistance animal”, “companion animal”, “educational/school support animal”, “emotional support animal”, “facility animal”, “service animal”, “skilled companion animal”, “therapy animal”, and “visiting/visitation animal”. At the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) conferences in 2018 and 2020, over 100 delegates participated in workshops to define these terms, many of whom co-authored this paper. Through an iterative process, we have defined the nine terms and explained how they differ from each other. We recommend phasing out two terms (i.e., “skilled companion animal” and “service animal”) due to overlap with other terms that could potentially exacerbate confusion. The implications for several regions of the world are discussed.
Keywords
- companion animal
- assistance animal
- service animal
- facility animal
- therapy animal
- emotional support animal
