Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

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

doi:10.3390/ani12151975

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

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 AlmAshley 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

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Article number	1975
Number of pages	18
Journal	Animals
Volume	12
Issue number	15
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151975
Publication status	Published - 4 Aug 2022

Bibliographical note

This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals’ Tenth Anniversary

This study received approval from the La Trobe University Human Ethics Low-Risk Committee (approval number HEC21326).

Data Access Statement

De-identified qualitative data can be made available by contacting the lead author

Keywords

companion animal
assistance animal
service animal
facility animal
therapy animal
emotional support animal
educational support animal
visiting animal
human–animal interaction

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Howell_2022_et_al_Defining_Terms_Used_for_Animals_Working_in_Support_Roles_for_People_with_Support_NeedsFinal published version, 974 KBLicence: CC BY

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Howell, T. J., Nieforth, L., Thomas-Pino, C., Samet, L., Agbonika, S., Cuevas-Pavincich, F., Fry, N. E., Hill, K., Jegatheesan, B., Kakinuma, M., MacNamara, M., Mattila-Rautiainen, S., Perry, A., Tardif-Williams, C. Y., Walsh, E. A., Winkle, M., Yamamoto, M., Yerbury, R., Rawat, V., ... Bennett, P. (2022). Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs. Animals, 12(15), Article 1975. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151975

@article{46ffa21556b34fe8adedef48403ee383,

title = "Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs",

abstract = "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.",

keywords = "companion animal, assistance animal, service animal, facility animal, therapy animal, emotional support animal, educational support animal, visiting animal, human–animal interaction",

author = "Howell, {Tiffani J.} and Leanne Nieforth and Clare Thomas-Pino and Lauren Samet and Sunday Agbonika and Francisca Cuevas-Pavincich and Fry, {Nina Ekholm} and Kristine Hill and Brinda Jegatheesan and Miki Kakinuma and Maureen MacNamara and Sanna Mattila-Rautiainen and Andy Perry and Tardif-Williams, {Christine Y.} and Walsh, {Elizabeth Ann} and Melissa Winkle and Mariko Yamamoto and Rachel Yerbury and Vijay Rawat and Kathy Alm and Ashley Avci and Tanya Bailey and Hannah Baker and Pree Benton and Catherine Binney and Sara Boyle and Hagit Brandes and Carr, {Alexa M.} and Wendy Coombe and Kendra Coulter and Audrey Darby and Lowri Davies and Esther Delisle and Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers and Angela Fournier and Marie Fox and Nancy Gee and Graham, {Taryn M.} and Anne Hamilton-Bruce and Hansen, {Tia G. B.} and Lynette Hart and Morag Heirs and Jade Hooper and Rachel Howe and Elizabeth Johnson and Melanie Jones and Christos Karagiannis and Emily Kieson and Sun-A Kim and Christine Kivlen and Beth Lanning and Helen Lewis and Deborah Linder and Mai, {Dac Loc} and Chiara Mariti and Rebecca Mead and Ferreira, {Gilly Mendes} and Debbie Ngai and Samantha O{\textquoteright}Keeffe and Grainne O{\textquoteright}Connor and Christine Olsen and Elizabeth Ormerod and Power, {Emma R.} and Pritchard, {Peggy A.} and Kerri Rodriguez and Deborah Rook and Ruby, {Matthew B.} and Leah Schofield and Tania Signal and Jill Steel and Wendy Stone and Melissa Symonds and Rooy, {Diane van} and Tiamat Warda and Monica Wilson and Janette Young and Pauleen Bennett",

note = "This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals{\textquoteright} Tenth Anniversary This study received approval from the La Trobe University Human Ethics Low-Risk Committee (approval number HEC21326).",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

day = "4",

doi = "10.3390/ani12151975",

language = "English",

volume = "12",

journal = "Animals",

issn = "2076-2615",

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Howell, TJ, Nieforth, L, Thomas-Pino, C, Samet, L, Agbonika, S, Cuevas-Pavincich, F, Fry, NE, Hill, K, Jegatheesan, B, Kakinuma, M, MacNamara, M, Mattila-Rautiainen, S, Perry, A, Tardif-Williams, CY, Walsh, EA, Winkle, M, Yamamoto, M, Yerbury, R, Rawat, V, Alm, K, Avci, A, Bailey, T, Baker, H, Benton, P, Binney, C, Boyle, S, Brandes, H, Carr, AM, Coombe, W, Coulter, K, Darby, A, Davies, L, Delisle, E, Enders-Slegers, M-J, Fournier, A, Fox, M, Gee, N, Graham, TM, Hamilton-Bruce, A, Hansen, TGB, Hart, L, Heirs, M, Hooper, J, Howe, R, Johnson, E, Jones, M, Karagiannis, C, Kieson, E, Kim, S-A, Kivlen, C, Lanning, B, Lewis, H, Linder, D, Mai, DL, Mariti, C, Mead, R, Ferreira, GM, Ngai, D, O’Keeffe, S, O’Connor, G, Olsen, C, Ormerod, E, Power, ER, Pritchard, PA, Rodriguez, K, Rook, D, Ruby, MB, Schofield, L, Signal, T, Steel, J, Stone, W, Symonds, M, Rooy, DV, Warda, T, Wilson, M, Young, J & Bennett, P 2022, 'Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs', Animals, vol. 12, no. 15, 1975. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12151975

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T1 - Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

AU - Howell, Tiffani J.

AU - Nieforth, Leanne

AU - Thomas-Pino, Clare

AU - Samet, Lauren

AU - Agbonika, Sunday

AU - Cuevas-Pavincich, Francisca

AU - Fry, Nina Ekholm

AU - Hill, Kristine

AU - Jegatheesan, Brinda

AU - Kakinuma, Miki

AU - MacNamara, Maureen

AU - Mattila-Rautiainen, Sanna

AU - Perry, Andy

AU - Tardif-Williams, Christine Y.

AU - Walsh, Elizabeth Ann

AU - Winkle, Melissa

AU - Yamamoto, Mariko

AU - Yerbury, Rachel

AU - Rawat, Vijay

AU - Alm, Kathy

AU - Avci, Ashley

AU - Bailey, Tanya

AU - Baker, Hannah

AU - Benton, Pree

AU - Binney, Catherine

AU - Boyle, Sara

AU - Brandes, Hagit

AU - Carr, Alexa M.

AU - Coombe, Wendy

AU - Coulter, Kendra

AU - Darby, Audrey

AU - Davies, Lowri

AU - Delisle, Esther

AU - Enders-Slegers, Marie-Jose

AU - Fournier, Angela

AU - Fox, Marie

AU - Gee, Nancy

AU - Graham, Taryn M.

AU - Hamilton-Bruce, Anne

AU - Hansen, Tia G. B.

AU - Hart, Lynette

AU - Heirs, Morag

AU - Hooper, Jade

AU - Howe, Rachel

AU - Johnson, Elizabeth

AU - Jones, Melanie

AU - Karagiannis, Christos

AU - Kieson, Emily

AU - Kim, Sun-A

AU - Kivlen, Christine

AU - Lanning, Beth

AU - Lewis, Helen

AU - Linder, Deborah

AU - Mai, Dac Loc

AU - Mariti, Chiara

AU - Mead, Rebecca

AU - Ferreira, Gilly Mendes

AU - Ngai, Debbie

AU - O’Keeffe, Samantha

AU - O’Connor, Grainne

AU - Olsen, Christine

AU - Ormerod, Elizabeth

AU - Power, Emma R.

AU - Pritchard, Peggy A.

AU - Rodriguez, Kerri

AU - Rook, Deborah

AU - Ruby, Matthew B.

AU - Schofield, Leah

AU - Signal, Tania

AU - Steel, Jill

AU - Stone, Wendy

AU - Symonds, Melissa

AU - Rooy, Diane van

AU - Warda, Tiamat

AU - Wilson, Monica

AU - Young, Janette

AU - Bennett, Pauleen

N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals’ Tenth Anniversary This study received approval from the La Trobe University Human Ethics Low-Risk Committee (approval number HEC21326).

PY - 2022/8/4

Y1 - 2022/8/4

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - companion animal

KW - assistance animal

KW - service animal

KW - facility animal

KW - therapy animal

KW - emotional support animal

KW - educational support animal

KW - visiting animal

KW - human–animal interaction

U2 - 10.3390/ani12151975

DO - 10.3390/ani12151975

M3 - Article

SN - 2076-2615

VL - 12

JO - Animals

JF - Animals

IS - 15

M1 - 1975

ER -

Defining Terms Used for Animals Working in Support Roles for People with Support Needs

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Access Statement

Keywords

Access to Document

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