Dogs & Society

1. Centaur – Center for Human Animal Relationships at the Virginia-Maryland Regional college of Veterinary Medicine provides outreach/service to the community, while simultaneously providing a basis for collaborative research programs for the study of the animal-human interface to discover new knowledge about the benefits people and animals derive from one another. Here is a quote from their mission statement: “The human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and other animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well being of both. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions of people, other animals and the environment. The veterinarian’s role in the human-animal bond is to maximize the potentials of this relationship between people and other animals.â€?
2. Doris Day Animal Foundation - A national nonprofit organization founded in 1997 by legendary performer Doris Day. Dedicated to the proposition that we can create caring communities by acknowledging the significant interrelationship between animal welfare and human development.
3. Assistance Dog Institute – Helping Dogs Help People – An education and research institution founded in 1991 by Dr. Bonita Bergin, the founder of Canine Companions for Independence. The institue provides instruction in human and canine studies about the role of the dog with human society. They provide many Service and Assistance Dog programs. Among them is the High School Assistance Dog program for at-rsik teens.
4. Delta Society – Internaltional non-profit “improving human health through service and therapy animals.”