When you acknowledge the bond, good things happen

In the latest episode of our podcast, From the SOAPbox, Steve Feldman, president of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) shared a few findings from the organization’s recent research. (If you haven’t already caught that episode, go have a listen! We’ll wait.)

Those findings included how, in a veterinary setting, acknowledging the human-animal bond (HAB) is far more meaningful than you might think.

“What we discovered was that, when veterinarians acknowledge the bond in the clinic, in the exam room, good things happen,” Feldman said. “If you acknowledge to that client that pets are family and that it’s not just a feeling, that there’s science behind it, they actually spend more on their pets. They follow veterinarians’ recommendations more frequently. They are better pet owners.”

The human-animal bond and family-centered care

Of course, readers who are familiar with a family-centered care approach, as outlined in the 2024 AAHA Community Care Guidelines for Small Animal Practice, won’t be surprised by any of this.

At its root, practicing family-centered care means centering the family in the care plan, rather than the veterinarian. It requires understanding the family’s needs, goals, limitations, hurdles, and any other context that could impact a treatment plan. And, naturally, it includes the pet as a member of that family.

HABRI’s research connects science and data to what many in the veterinary community have long understood—that having animals in our lives provides numerous benefits to our physical health, mental health, and overall wellbeing. (They’re also engaging in research on many other human health topics, including cardiovascular health, autism spectrum disorder, allergies and immunity, childhood development, and more.)

But what’s most exciting is that this research provides us all with data on these benefits. That data provides an important tool to veterinary professionals in various facets of their work, including:

• Connecting with clients by providing evidence-based insights regarding the bond they already have;
• Influencing their community by sharing this data with policy makers, landlords, and more to impact pet-friendly housing initiatives and other programs;
• Reconnecting to their purpose in the veterinary profession, because there will always be tough days, but remembering that the work you do directly helps to support the human-animal bond can help get through those difficult times.

Addressing housing and the human-animal bond

As Feldman noted in the podcast, one of the biggest barriers to pet ownership and a major cause of pet relinquishment is housing.

“We did a study with the Michelson Found Animals Foundation, which showed that rental restrictions on pets are suppressing the number of homes that pets could come home to by about 8 million,” he said in the podcast. “In other words, if we were able to loosen up all these restrictions, reasonably so, on breed and size and the other kinds of things that keep people from getting a pet, we can make a lot more new homes for pets.”

With that in mind, HABRI has asked the research community for proposals on studying the mental, physical, social, and economic benefits of having pets and housing, which will allow HABRI to better tackle the housing issue.

“It’s super important for veterinarians to understand this issue, not only because they love pets, but because often veterinarians are actually asked for recommendations or health certificates for pets as they go into new rental housing,” Feldman explained. “I think it’s really important for vets to understand this issue and to be advocates for pet inclusive housing. They probably see requests like this all the time. We just want the veterinary community to be aware of it and supportive as we pursue these policies.”

The submission window for 2026 proposals has closed, which means the real work of selecting the grant recipients and mapping out the work is about to begin. And while we wait for the next HABRI study to launch, we’ll continue sharing our monthly HAB-py tails roundups of research and stories to give you a boost of human-animal bond inspiration.

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Disclaimer: Trends™ content is meant to inform, educate, and inspire by providing an array of diverse viewpoints. Any content published should not be viewed as an official stance, position, or endorsement by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) or its Board of Directors.