April is National Pet Month in the UK and each week SCAS will present a topic related to companion animal welfare, well-being, and the important role they play in the lives of humans. This week Dr Elizabeth Ormerod provides an update on one of SCAS’s priorities, namely Pets in Housing.
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National Pet Month in the UK: Benefits of Companion Animals
April is National Pet Month in the UK and each week SCAS will present a topic related to companion animal welfare, well-being, and the important role they play in the lives of humans. This week we explore the benefits of being a pet owner (by Sandra McCune).
Continue readingNational Dog Bite Prevention Week
April 9-11 is National Dog Bite Prevention Week in the US.
This is an issue SCAS takes seriously. #PreventDogBites
A recording of our recent Webinar, When dogs bite back – Reducing dog bite incident risks, is still available (for a small fee to non-SCAS members).
Continue readingApril is Pet Month! Part 1

#NationalPetMonth
The Society of Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) understands how special our pets are! As a charitable organisation, SCAS is dedicated to supporting research, promoting best practices, and advocating for policies that help both pets and people. Read more about SCAS here.
April is Pet Month in the UK and each week SCAS will present a topic related to companion animal welfare, well-being, and the important role they play in the lives of humans.
Week 1: Responsible Pet Ownership (RPO)
Continue readingSCAS at ISAZ 2023!

The 32nd International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) Conference is open for registration. Hosted by the University of Edinburgh in the beautiful capital of Scotland, the event takes place from June 15 – 18, 2023.
Click here for the ISAZ conference homepage.
The programme includes varied and insightful presentations from scholars and professionals from around the world who are working in the field of human-animal studies. Many talks and workshops will appeal to SCAS members. These include topics related to companion animals, the human-animal bond (HAB), animal assisted intervention (AA!), and a workshop on Pets and Housing. Some of the titles from our grantees, trustees, and members are listed below:
Continue readingNew Tool for Housing Rights & Assistance Animals
A new online tool funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Reasonable Accommodation Requests for Assistance Animals in Housing, has recently been released. This interactive tool will provide persons with disabilities with information about their fair housing rights related to requests for assistance animals.
Pets in Housing is a SCAS priority, and Trustees Dr Elizabeth Ormerod and Dr Sandra McCune will be leading a Workshop on Pets in Housing at the ISAZ 2023 conference in Edinburgh:
Hope to see you there!
#Petinhousing
Say NO MORE
Spearheaded by the national campaign UK SAYS NO MORE, No More Week (5-10 March, 2023) is a week to raise awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the United Kingdom and in the US and the World.
There is a strong link between violence to animals and violence towards people, and an abused or neglected pet can be an indicator of domestic violence, spousal or child abuse, or neglect.
Continue readingOld friends: a preliminary assessment of the implications of current UK care home pet policies for the health and wellbeing of elderly individuals and their companion animals and the obstacles to making more care homes pet-friendly
Samantha Hurn, from the University of Exeter, UK, was recently awarded £9,963 by SCAS to study the implications of current UK care home pet policies for the health and wellbeing of elderly individuals and their companion animals.
This is one of six pump priming grants that were awarded from Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) 2022 funding round.
Continue readingThe Human-Animal Bond in Young People’s Self-Management of Mental Health Difficulties
Roxanne Hawkins, from the University of Edinburgh, UK, was recently awarded £10,000 by SCAS to study the role of the human-animal bond in managing mental health difficulties in young people.
This is one of six pump priming grants that were awarded from Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) 2022 funding round.
Continue readingPet ownership among young people: associations with mental health, self-harm and other risk behaviours
Emily Vicary, from the University of Manchester, UK, was recently awarded £9,995 by SCAS to study the associations with mental health, self-harm and other risk behaviours amongst young people pets.
This is one of six pump priming grants that were awarded from Society for Companion Animal Studies (SCAS) 2022 funding round.
Continue reading