Animal Behavior Society Public Day June 30, 2016, Columbia, MO In collaboration with the 53rd Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society http://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/2016/index.php Title: Service Animals: Perspectives from Animal Behavior Professionals (held in conjunction with Saturday Morning Science) Purpose: To educate ABS members, animal behavior professionals, and the public about a behavioral perspective, empirical research, and dilemmas facing the service animal community. Introduction: Other animal species play multiple and diverse roles in the lives of humans. The positive effects of the human-animal bond is well documented by empirical research, and supported by both the pet owning public and the professional pet service community. Service animals are a special arena of the human-animal bond, which includes therapeutic animal partners (e.g. Pet Partners), working dogs (e.g. Guide Dogs), therapy/counseling programs (e.g. Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD), and the legal world of human-animal regulatory agencies (e.g. ADA and DOT agencies,) as well as the professional Animal Behavior community (e.g. Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists) and animal trainers (e.g. Association of Professional Animal Trainers.) The diversity of other animals’ usefulness and service to humans is determined by our imagination of the possibilities, as well as public acceptance of sharing our lives and communities with other species. A wide range of species with specialized functions can be employed in the service role to meet the diverse needs that arise from health impairment conditions in humans. Professionals in Animal Behavior have a specialized knowledge base for advancing these therapeutic partnerships. This Public Day event aims to enlarge our understandings of these relationships. Speakers will present on various issues within the service animal community. Topics will include Equine Assisted Therapy research, Quality of Life issues for Service Dogs, Effects of greeting a working service animal, Owner Trained Individualized Service Dogs, Scent training for medical detection dogs Stress and Well-being in Service Dogs and more. A panel will discuss the issue of problems surrounding the definition of the “fake” service dog in the public domain. The Public Day event includes a full day of speakers and an area where various organizations can display and share information about their services and products. Proposed Schedule: 9:00-9:15 Welcome (coffee) ABS Public Day Introduction 9:15-10:15 Session 1 Equine Assisted Therapy Robin Foster and Sue McDonnell 10:30-11:45 Session 2 Mutual Health Benefits of Dog Walking Rebecca Johnson, UM Human-Animal Interactions Group 11:45-1:15 Lunch 1) Meet the guests/vendors who provide service animal programs (2nd floor balcony), 2) Science Safari-UM labs open for public to explore 1:15-2:00 Session 3 Canine Olfaction: Scent Work Simon Gadbois 2:00-3:00 Session 4 Quality of Life Issues: Taking Care of Canine Caretakers Dr. James C. Ha, PhD, CAAB Stress and Well-being in Service Dogs: Principles and Evidence 3:00:3:15 BREAK 3:15-4:00 Session 5 Owner Trained Individualized Service Dogs and Effects of Greeting a Service Animal Mary Lee Nitschke 4:00-5:00 Session 6Panel Discussion Issues in Service Animal Certification: Perspectives from Animal Behavior Professionals All speakers Speaker Profiles • Robin Foster, PhD, CAAB, IAABC-Certified Horse Behavior Consultant, is a Professor at the University of Puget Sound, and an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington. Robin conducts research on equine temperament and behavior and provides private behavior consultations and training services. • Simon Gadbois, PhD, Senior Instructor, Psychology, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. Dr. Gadbois studies wild canids, including wolves, coyotes, and foxes, as well as domestic dogs. At Dalhousie he runs the Canid Behaviour Research Laboratory. Its aims are to promote, develop, and study non-invasive wildlife research, canine scent processing, as well as the integration and synthesis of ethology, animal experimental psychology, neuroscience and zoosemiotics. • Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN. Professor in both Sinclair School of Nursing and College of Veterinary Medicine, and Director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri. Johnson's gerontological research focuses on housing transitions and ways to promote healthy physical activity among older adults. She is widely known for her research on relocation of older adults. Her work in the area of the health benefits of human-companion animal interaction aim to facilitate well-being for humans and animals. She is the incoming President of the International Association of Human Animal Interaction Organizations, and serves on the Executive Boards of the Delta Society. • Sue McDonnell, PhD, CAAB, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. McDonnell is founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, and author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management. • Mary Lee Nitschke, PhD, CAAB. Dr. Nitschke is a Professor of Psychology at Linfield College, is Chair of the Humanities Social Science Department, and is a member of the Health Sciences Department. She directs the OTIS (Owner Trained Individualized Service) dog program with Animal School Behavior Services, consults nationally on training programs, pet product development, research in animal behavior and litigation involving human and other animal interactions.

Sponsor:Animal Behavior Society
Speaker(s):Sue McDonnell, PhD, CAAB; Robin Foster, PhD, CAAB; Simon Gadbois, PhD; Mary Lee Nitschke, PhD, CAAB;

Contact: Animal Behavior Society
 Email: info@animalbehaviorsociety.org
 Phone: 312-893-6585
 Web: http://www.animalbehaviorsociety.org/2016/program-public.php