(NON-HUMAN)ANIMAL COMPANIONSHIP: A CRUCIAL SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
PDF

Keywords

COVID-19
Coronavirus
quarantine
companion animal
pet

Abstract

Background Human-animal interaction (HAI) offers benefits across physical, emotional, psychological, and social spheres of human functioning. The aim of this paper is to delineate how animal companionship, via provision of HAI benefits, offers vital support to people experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stressors. Method Each of the empirically supported types of HAI benefits – physical, emotional, psychological, and social – will be situated within a biopsychosocial framework of human functioning and considered in terms of how they may help to ameliorate stressors specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings Benefits derived from animal companionship may help alleviate physical, emotional, psychological, and social stressors specifically related to experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion Benefits of animal companionship may be particularly salient for well-being and coping when people are experiencing a dramatic increase in stressors via a pandemic crisis. Community responses need to include plans (pet food pantries, temporary foster care, veterinary access/zoonotic safety) for keeping people and their companion animals together during such difficult times. Originality/value This article is unique in that it delineates the animal companionship benefits in terms of how such may help alleviate stressors associated with a pandemic.

https://doi.org/10.14746/sr.2020.4.2.08
PDF

References

American Pet Products Association. 2019-2020. “APPA National Pet Owners Survey Statistics.” Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp).

American Psychiatric Association. 2013. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “What are Pet Safety Net Services?”. 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://www.aspca.org/animal-protection/safety-net ).

Ashdown-Franks, Garcia, Joseph Firth, Rebekah Carney, Andre F. Carvalho, Mats Hallgren, Ai Koyanagi, Simon Rosenbaum et al. 2020. “Exercise as Medicine for Mental and Substance Use Disorders: A Meta-Review of the Benefits for Neuropsychiatric and Cognitive Outcomes.” Sports Medicine 50(1): 151–70. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=eoah&
AN=51512515&site=ehost-live.

Beetz, Andrea, Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, Henri Julius, and Kurt Kotrschal. 2012. “Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocin.” Frontiers in Psychology 3 (July). http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=psyh&AN=2012-26242-001&site=ehost-live.

Brooks, Helen Louise, Kelly Rushton, Karina Lovell, Penny Bee, Lauren Walker, Laura Grant, and Anne Rogers. 2018. “The Power of Support from Companion Animals for People Living with Mental Health Problems: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of the Evidence.” BMC Psychiatry 18(1): 31. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-018-1613-2.

Brooks, Samantha K., Rebecca K. Webster, Louise E. Smith, Lisa Woodland, Simon Wessely, Neil Greenberg, and Gideon James Rubin. 2020. “The Psychological Impact of Quarantine and How to Reduce It: Rapid Review of the Evidence.” Lancet 395 (10227): 912–20. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8.

Chandler, Cynthia K., Delini M. Fernando, Casey A. Barrio Minton, and Torey L. Portrie-Bethke. 2015. “Eight Domains of Pet-Owner Wellness: Valuing the Owner-Pet Relationship in the Counseling Process.” Journal of Mental Health Counseling 37(3) (July 2015): 268–82. doi:10.17744/mehc.37.3.06.

Clemente-Suárez, Vicente Javier, and Pablo Ruisoto-Palomera. 2020. “Effects of the Psychophysiological Stress Response in Human Behavior.” Physiology & Behavior 214 (February): 112761. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112761.

Correia-Caeiro, Catia, Kun Guo, and Daniel S. Mills. 2020. “Perception of Dynamic Facial Expressions of Emotion between Dogs and Humans.” Animal Cognition, February 12, 2020. doi:10.1007/s10071-020-01348-5.

El-Qushayri, A. E., Kamel, A. M. A., Faraj, H. A., Vuong, N. L., Diab, O. M., Istanbuly, S., Elshafei, T. A., Makram, O. M., Sattar, Z., Istanbuly, O., Mukit, S. A. A., Elfaituri, M. K., Low, S. K., & Huy, N. T. 2020. “Association between pet ownership and cardiovascular risks and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine (Hagerstown, Md.). https://doi.org/10.2459/
JCM.0000000000000920

Friedmann, Erika, and Nancy R Gee. 2019. “Critical Review of Research Methods Used to Consider the Impact of Human–Animal Interaction on Older Adults’ Health.” Gerontologist 59(5): 964–72. doi:10.1093/geront/gnx150.

Glassey, Steve. 2018. “Did Harvey Learn from Katrina? Initial Observations of the Response to Companion Animals during Hurricane Harvey.” Animals (2076-2615) 8(4): 47. doi:10.3390/ani8040047.

Growth from Knowledge (GfK). 2016. “Pet owners Dominate in Latin America, Russia, and the United States.” May 24, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://www.gfk.com/fileadmin/user_upload/website_content/Global_Study/Documents/20160524_PM_Pet_ownership_efin.pdf ).

Hamilton City Council. 2020. “Keep Dogs on Lead”. April 2, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2004/S00049/keep-dogs-on-a-leadhelp-prevent-the-spread-of-covid-19.htm ).

Hendrik. 2014. “The Psychology of Animal Companionship: Some Ancient and Modern Views.” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 70(1): 1–8. doi:10.4102/hts.v70i1.2705.

Hoy-Gerlach, J. 2019. “The Hope and Recovery Pet (HARP) Program Evaluation: A Final Report to the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust”. Prepared by Janet Hoy-Gerlach, LISW, PhD Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Toledo December 31, 2019. Unpublished manuscript.

Hoy-Gerlach, Janet, Aviva Vincent, and Becca Lory Hector. 2019. “Emotional Support Animals in the United States: Emergent Guidelines for Mental Health Clinicians.” Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health 6(2): 199–208. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=eoah&AN=50841568&site=ehost-live.

Hoy-Gerlach, Janet, and Scott Wehman. 2017. Human-Animal Interactions: A Social Work Guide. Washington DC: NASW Press.

Humane Society of the United States. 2020. “Keeping Pets for Life.” 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://www.humanesociety.org/issues/keeping-pets-life ).

Krittanawong, C., Kumar, A., Wang, Z., Jneid, H., Virani, S. S., & Levine, G. N. 2020. “Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Health in the US General Population.” The American Journal of Cardiology 125(8): 1158–1161.

Larkin, Malinda. 2018. “$2.8M Grant to Aid Access to Veterinary Care: Maddie’s Fund to Support Research and Development of AlignCare.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253(6): 666–67. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=bai&AN=131760427&site=ehost-live.

Levine, Glenn N., Karen Allen, Lynne T. Braun, Hayley E. Christian, Erika Friedmann, Kathryn A. Taubert, Sue Ann Thomas, Deborah L. Wells, and Richard A. Lange. 2013. “Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Risk: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association.” Circulation 127(23): 2353–63. doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e31829201e1.

McGraw, C. & S. Jeffers. 2015. “The importance of considering the treatment and care of family pets in domestic violence risk assessments.” Journal of Health Visiting 3(9): 483–488.

Menna, Lucia Francesca, Antonio Santaniello, Margherita Todisco, Alessia Amato, Luca Borrelli, Cristiano Scandurra, and Alessandro Fioretti. 2019. “The Human-Animal Relationship as the Focus of Animal-Assisted Interventions: A One Health Approach.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16(19). doi:10.3390/ijerph16193660.

Mueller, Megan K., Nancy R. Gee, and Regina M. Bures. 2018. “Human-Animal Interaction as a Social Determinant of Health: Descriptive Findings from the Health and Retirement Study.” BMC Public Health 18(1): 305. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5188-0.

Nitkin, Patricia and Marla J. Buchanan. 2020. “Relationships Between People with Cancer and Their Companion Animals: What Helps and Hinders.” Anthrozoös 33(2): 243–59. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&Auth-Type=shib&db=eoah&AN=52709750&site=ehost-live.

Otsuka, Tatsui, Yasutake Tomata, Shu Zhang, Fumiya Tanji, Yumi Sugawara, and Ichiro Tsuji. 2019. “The Association between Emotional and Instrumental Social Support and Risk of Suicide Death: A Population-Based Cohort Study.” Journal of Psychiatric Research 114(July): 141–46. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.04.012.

Pearce, Katie. 2020. “What is Social Distancing and How Can it Slow the Spread of COVID-19.” March 13, 2020. John Hopkins University COVID-19 Online Hub. Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/03/13/what-is-social-distancing/).

Potter, Katie and Melanie Sartore-Baldwin. 2019. “Dogs as Support and Motivation for Physical Activity.” Current Sports Medicine Reports 18(7): 275–80. doi:10.1249/JSR.0000000000000611.

Rauktis, M. E. 2019. “The Impact of Pets on Food Security.” Manuscript in Revision at Anthrozoos March 2020.

Stallard, Michael Lee and Katharine P. Stallard. 2020. “COVID-19 Is Coinciding With a Loneliness Epidemic.” Government Executive, March, N.PAG. http://search. ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=oih&AN=1424Uvnäs-

Uvnäs-Moberg, Kerstin. 1998. “Oxytocin May Mediate the Benefits of Positive Social Interaction and Emotions.” Psychoneuroendocrinology 23(8): 819–35. doi:10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00056-0.

Vitztum, Coley and Julie Urbanik. 2016. “Assessing the Dog: A Theoretical Analysis of the Companion Animal’s Actions in Human-Animal Interactions.” Society & Animals 24(2): 172–85. doi:10.1163/15685306-12341399.

Viviers, Hendrik. 2014. “The Psychology of Animal Companionship: Some Ancient and Modern Views.” Hervormde Teologiese Studies 70(1): 1–8. doi:10.4102/hts.v70i1.2705.

Wan, William, Joel Achenbach, Carolyn Y. Johnson, and Ben Guarinao. 2020. “Report: Radical Restrictions for 12-18 Months could be ‘the only viable strategy’.” March 19, 2020 The Washington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2020 (https://www.boston.com/news/health/2020/03/19/report-radical-restrictions-for-12-18-monthscould-be-the-only-viable-strategy ).

Wells, Deborah L. 2019. “The State of Research on Human-Animal Relations: Implications for Human Health.” Anthrozoos 32(2): 169–81. doi:10.1080/08927936.2019.1569902.