This semester we have covered many human- animal interactions. We learned about how animals were first domesticated, the different ways that a person may treat an animal, and how humans tend to anthropomorphize animals. Many people have grown to treat animals like their family instead of a

n animal, and this caused humans to sympathize animals. This class explored the history of animals including how the “civil right movement for animals”, also known as speciesism started. Animals are utilized for a broad range of activities in sports, films, research, workplaces and homes. This course explains these and many more topics in which animals part take in. Although all of the subjects were fascinating to learn about, the two topics that intrigued me the most were Animal-Assisted Activities and Therapy and Pet ownership in Underserved populations.

Animal-assisted Activities and Therapy can be categorized into two different types. One type is animal assisted activities, which are activities that have no particular goal other than to motivate someone or relax them. These activities are often spontaneous. For example, during finals week in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, there are sessions with dogs in which students can interact with to calm a student a bit. The second type of animal activities is animal assisted therapy. Animal Assisted Therapy differs from animal-assisted activities in that these sessions require a certain length of time depending on the assigned task. These are goal oriented visits that need both the patients and animals to be active and work on improving individual skill. These skills can be physical, mental/emotional, and motivational goals. An example can be letting a person, who has recovered from a stroke, brush a dog. This activity is helping the patient work on his/her fine motor skills as well as motivating them to reach for the dog. Overall animal assisted activities can have a broader goal because it is more passive than animal assisted therapy.

Several programs organize and recruit volunteers and animals for animal-assisted activities and therapy. Pet Partners is a program that gathers teams and sends them out to where they are needed. Pet Partners accept volunteers only after they pass an evaluation in which both the dog and handler are examined as a team. Just like any other program, there are regulations for the type of animal that can be permitted. Animals like dogs, cats, llamas, horses, rabbits, rats, and parrots are accepted. Two programs that I loved were “Puppies behind bars” and “Green Chimneys.” Puppies behind bars is a program where certain prisoners are allowed to train service and shelter animals with the help of a professional trainer. This program not only emotionally benefits the prisoners but also helps them grow in skills like responsibility and leadership. This program gives prisoners a chance to change their lives because they can see what they are capable of doing. Green Chimneys is a school for students who have physical, mental, social or emotional issues. It is a school that requires the students to care for the animals that are there. These types of interactions are beneficial for the students. This school is using human-animal bonds to help solve or improve with the student’s issues.

Pet ownership in underserved populations is a topic that many people do not acknowledge. It is very easy to believe that someone who is labeled as “poor” should not own a pet. As people think about pet owners who can only afford the necessities for their pet, many of them tend to label the person as a bad pet owner. However whether people have millions of dollars or only less one hundred dollars, people care for and love their pets. Most people in underserved populations want to provide the best care for their pets; however, many are uneducated about free services, vaccines, or programs offered to improve the lives of their pets. As stated in class, to reach out to communities and not offend anyone people need to remain non-judgmental, stay focused on the goal, be patient, empathize, be accessible, and stay positive. Being informative and educating pet owners about spay/neuter and vaccines can be very beneficial. There are services offered all around the United States. Pet for Life is a program that provides services for people in underserved populations in the main cities like Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles and many more. In Champaign, there are vaccines clinics where people get their pets vaccines for a low price and are offered other services as well. Another program in the city is CANOPY, which stands for Care and Assistance to Needy Outdoor Pets Year-round. The goal of this program is to provide a spot where the animal may hide in inclement weather, lighter chains, and other things that better protects the animal from extreme weather conditions. Programs like these vary from city to city; however, there are many programs out there that are available to underserved populations all over the United States.

As a college student in my third year of studying animal science, I have learned a lot about the careers that an animal science major are capable of obtaining. Just like many other students, it is tough to determine what job I might see myself in the future. The reason these two topics were interesting to me is because I would like to work with people who live in underserved communities or help people with issues create an animal bond that might be able to help with their problems. I believe that the human-animal bond is very beneficial to the individual and the animal itself. I grew up in a community that was underserved and there were tons of stray animals, unneutered animals, and if there were programs like the ones mentioned above, it might solve a lot of issues. Educating the people in these communities is very necessary. In this same community, many children tend to end up in prison. I have met many of these people and from experience, almost all of them are good people in bad situations so programs like puppies behind bars might be beneficial to them. I am a person who believes that some people make bad decisions, but it does not make them an evil person. In a lot of cases, people can be judgmental; however an animal is a loving and nonjudgmental creature. I believe that the human-animal bond is one of the most beneficial relationships that people can have.

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