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North Americans consider companion-animals as family members and increasingly as attachment figures. Across the health sciences and professions, substantial qualitative and mounting quantitative research provides evidence of health benefits of human animal interactions across the life cycle regarding diverse issues. In replicating a ground-breaking U.S. study designed to measure exposure to information and levels of knowledge and integration of human animal bonds (HAB) into practice, this present study, funded by the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation, surveyed practitioners in Nova Scotia, Canada. Similar to the U.S. findings, this study revealed the majority of practitioners were uninformed about such benefits and about how they can be operationalized. As a result, the majority of practitioners in Nova Scotia are not including animals in practice, and notably, those who are, are doing so without the necessary education or training. The lack of preparation in human-animal interactions has serious implications for social work in that disparities and inequities between and among humans are related to the disparities between humans and other animals, society, and nature.

Among health care professionals, veterinarians and veterinarian technicians (VVT) have been largely overlooked in terms of the consequences of preferred coping style, stress management, and care work (e.g., burnout, secondary traumatic stress [STS], and moral distress). STS, often referred to as compassion fatigue, can have serious negative physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual impacts. Although trauma research has begun to shed light on the development of STS as an adverse consequence of care work, a limited understanding exists within the extant literature about the role of other factors such as individual coping style on the development of STS among health care professionals in general, but among veterinarians specifically. This lack of attention on VVT is not surprising when one considers disproportionate lower ranking of veterinarian medicine within the larger medical hierarchy, in which doctors of humans are generally bestowed with greater prestige. Within trauma research, no understanding exists within the extant literature about the relational significance of human-animal bonds in veterinary settings regarding the development of STS, and how they may function as social determinants of health, impacting both professional and organizational well-being. This discussion article seeks to add clarity to the issue as well as challenge current perceptions of veterinary work, its health consequences on VVT, and anthropocentrism in research more generally. Implications for education and research are provided.

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The beneficial role of companion animals on human health and wellbeing across the life span is well documented in the rapidly expanding multi disciplinary body of literature known as human animal interactions (HAI). Social workers practice at the interface of people and their diverse environments. The presence of human animal bonds (HAB) within client systems, between people and companion animals in particular, are increasingly acknowledged and valued by social workers. Additionally, some social workers incorporate animals in their practice through animal assisted interventions (AAI). However, there is a paucity of empirical literature on social workers’ knowledge about and experiences with the inclusion of animals. We conducted a survey across three prairie provinces in Canada, replicating a study that was first implemented nationwide in the U.S. and later in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The survey explored social workers’ knowledge of HAI in social work. The results, similar to the Nova Scotia and U.S. findings, suggest that s social workers have general knowledge about HAI and the HAB, and that some do incorporate animals in practice. Social workers seem to have increasing knowledge and skills about HAI. While this is a positive trend, there is nonetheless a need for specialized education and training on the beneficial impact that companion animals can have on social work practice. In this paper, the application of zooeyia within social work is adopted as one approach to understanding HAB. Important implications for human health and wellbeing and social work practice at the practitioner and organizational levels are discussed.