Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs
Journal
Animals
ISSN
2076-2615
Date Issued
2022
Author(s)
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
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
<jats:p>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.</jats:p>
Subjects
assistance animal
;
companion animal
;
educational support animal
;
emotional support animal
;
facility animal
;
human–animal interaction
;
service animal
;
therapy animal
;
visiting animal
;
emotional support
;
funding
;
government
;
human
;
human experiment
;
human-animal bond
;
nonhuman
;
note
;
pet animal
;
service animal
;
therapy animal