On August 14, 2021, a team from Animal Friends and Pitt were at the Homewood Health Fair to talk about how humans and pets can be healthier together. Dr. Mary Beth Rauktis from the School of Social Work brought the “Aging in Place with Pets Guide” created by the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education fellowship students and funded by the Florence Stier endowment, as well as harnesses, dog leashes and collars donated by Animal Friends to the fair. Dr. Aliya Durham, Director of Community Engagement at the School of Social Work, and Daren Ellerbee, Director of the Community Engagement Center (CEC) in Homewood, both encouraged Dr. Rauktis and her colleagues to participate in the event.
Animal Friends volunteer Gayle brought a special volunteer, 3-month-old Oak, who with his two-footed person demonstrated walking a dog, and how to approach a strange dog. Another human/dog pair, Dr Liz Winter and Troi, joined the team to talk with community members about dog and human safety. Discussions with community members were about dog behavior (barking, biting, anxiety), how to train a dog to walk on a leash, and when and how to re-home a dog. The team also alerted residents to which food pantries in Homewood had pet food. Troi and Oak enthusiastically demonstrated “sniffing mats” a dog enrichment activity that they were also making at the table, and the importance of keeping both animals and humans engaged in activities while growing older together. It is hoped that activities such as this outreach event will help in emphasizing that human and animal health are interrelated.
While the connection between human and animal health may not seem clear at first, Homewood residents have dogs and want to walk them, which is good for both human and animal, but they may lack the equipment or the confidence. Rauktis, along with collaborator Arnie Arluke, emeritus of Northeastern University, secured an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) grant to better understand low-income communities and pet ownership. The overarching aim of the study is to explore the low-income consumer’s journey in the dog acquisition process from its inception, when people first mull over the idea of getting a dog, to finally acquiring one and living with it, and seeking help.
Undertaking research on human-animal relationships in low-income communities is itself a leading rationale for doing the proposed research because of the failure of academia to consider the potentially enormous role social class plays in these relationships. Apart from Dr. Rauktis’s own recent research on how social class influences the use of free or discounted veterinary services, comparatively little research has been done on this larger question. Conducting and publishing well-designed research on class and human-animal relationships can help to stimulate other social work researchers to follow suit. “Pets play an important role in reducing social isolation, motivating their companions to move and have routines, but pets can also create challenges for low-income families” said Dr. Rauktis. “We hope that ASPCA's ‘nod’ to our research suggests a greater interest in helping low-income owners benefit from having a companion animal and a commitment to prevention and keeping animals and people safely together.”