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Item Pets in the workplace: a scoping review(Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group, 2024-08-14) Gardner DHThere is a large and growing body of literature proposing that there are benefits to employees and workplaces when pets are allowed to accompany their owners to work. This article reports a scoping review of research that is workplace-based and that provides information on the reported benefits or problems of allowing employees' pets at work. The databases Scopus, Discover and Google Scholar were searched with the initial search terms "pets AND workplace AND research." Results were reviewed initially by title to remove items where, for instance, "PET" was used as an acronym. Studies were included if they provided information on research into human well-being and/or work or task performance and pets at work. This included research into the presence of pets while working from home, as the home can be considered a workplace in this situation. A total of 189 papers on pets at work were identified from the searches. The abstracts were reviewed and papers that did not report research into the benefits and challenges of employees' pets at work were excluded, leaving 31 results. The majority of studies used survey methods and did not include validated psychometric measures of key variables including stress. Findings indicated that the presence of employees' pets at work may reduce stress and lead to more positive work-related attitudes, but these findings may not apply to all employees or all workplaces. Negative aspects of pets in the workplace include health risks to humans and animals, cultural concerns and dislike or fear of some animals, and the proportion of participants who raised these concerns or agreed with them varied widely between studies. However, there is little evidence on the prevalence of risks or how they are addressed, and there was no data on how work performance, absenteeism or staff turnover were related to pet-friendly policies at work. More research is required, and some directions for future research are suggested.Item How Lazy Are Pet Cats Really? Using Machine Learning and Accelerometry to Get a Glimpse into the Behaviour of Privately Owned Cats in Different Households(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-04-19) Smit M; Corner-Thomas R; Draganova I; Andrews C; Thomas D; Friedrich CMSurprisingly little is known about how the home environment influences the behaviour of pet cats. This study aimed to determine how factors in the home environment (e.g., with or without outdoor access, urban vs. rural, presence of a child) and the season influences the daily behaviour of cats. Using accelerometer data and a validated machine learning model, behaviours including being active, eating, grooming, littering, lying, scratching, sitting, and standing were quantified for 28 pet cats. Generalized estimating equation models were used to determine the effects of different environmental conditions. Increasing cat age was negatively correlated with time spent active (p < 0.05). Cats with outdoor access (n = 18) were less active in winter than in summer (p < 0.05), but no differences were observed between seasons for indoor-only (n = 10) cats. Cats living in rural areas (n = 7) spent more time eating than cats in urban areas (n = 21; p < 0.05). Cats living in single-cat households (n = 12) spent more time lying but less time sitting than cats living in multi-cat households (n = 16; p < 0.05). Cats in households with at least one child (n = 20) spent more time standing in winter (p < 0.05), and more time lying but less time sitting in summer compared to cats in households with no children (n = 8; p < 0.05). This study clearly shows that the home environment has a major impact on cat behaviour.Item Characteristics and challenges of companion animal rescue organisations in New Zealand.(Taylor and Francis Group, 2024-05-08) Roseveare C; Gates MCAIMS: To describe the characteristics of companion animal rescue organisations (CARO) in New Zealand; to describe current capacity, resource limitations and challenges of CARO with a particular focus on cats and dogs; and to explore support for creating a national database of CARO in New Zealand. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was administered to CARO in New Zealand in May 2022. The survey asked about organisational characteristics, types and numbers of animals cared for, services provided, policies, staffing, funding sources, challenges, and attitudes towards a national database for rescue organisations. Descriptive statistics were provided for all quantitative study variables and free-text comments were analysed for common themes. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 106/208 (51%) known CARO distributed across the country. These CARO provided services to an estimated 59,874 homeless animals annually with 86/106 (81%) providing services to cats and/or dogs. Primary services provided by CARO who cared for cats or dogs included rehoming (72/86; 84%) and housing (70/86; 81%) animals. Intake was managed through a combination of strategies. Donations (72/86; 82%) were the main funding source. The 62 registered charities were more likely to report being funded by grants than the 23 non-charities (39/62 (63%) vs. 1/23 (4%); p < 0.001), and non-charities were more likely to self-fund (18/23 (78%) vs. 20/62 (32%); p < 0.001). Nearly half of the CARO that provided workforce information (35/72; 49%) had a workforce of 10 or fewer including volunteers. A total of 5,699 people worked for 86 CARO that care for cats or dogs of whom 4,847 (85%) were part-time volunteers. Of the 72 cat and dog CARO who provided workforce information, 57/72 (79%) relied solely on volunteers.The majority of all 106 CARO respondents (78/106; 73%) indicated they were likely to register on a national database of CARO, subject to addressing concerns about time required and information security.CARO respondents described challenges of insufficient funding, access to veterinary services, and a shortage of volunteers and foster homes, with additional concerns including a lack of public awareness, supportive legislation, and resources. Financial support (90/106; 85%) and policy change (76/106; 72%) were preferred support options. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the significant role played by CARO in New Zealand and the challenges they face, emphasising the need for financial support, legislation, and initiatives extending beyond the rescue sector to reduce the number of animals being surrendered. The findings also suggest a willingness among CARO to participate in a national database.Item Companion Animal Fostering as Health Promotion: A Literature Review.(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-06-21) Roseveare C; Breheny M; Mansvelt J; Murray L; Wilkie M; Gates MC; Tchounwou PBThere is growing interest in the health-promoting potential of human-companion animal relationships from a broad public health perspective while acknowledging barriers to ownership, particularly for older adults. Companion animal fostering is an alternative to pet ownership that aligns with the Ottawa Charter health promotion principle that caring for others in everyday settings promotes health. This narrative review of the literature on companion animal fostering draws on Te Whare Tapa Whā (the four-sided house), an indigenous model of health that is influential in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and the Ottawa Charter. We found that companion animal fostering can be considered health-promoting for human and non-human animals, using a broad and multidimensional understanding of health. As well as improving the long-term outcomes for homeless animals, companion animal fostering has the potential to promote the health of the individuals, families, and communities who provide foster homes. Our review highlights the importance of health promoters considering the reciprocal relationship between human and animal health. Future research should explore different aspects of human and non-human health, perspectives of different types of fosterers in different settings and communities, barriers to fostering, and methods that explore the role of caring for a wider range of companion animals in creating and sustaining wellbeing.Item Is the family pet a risk for multidrug resistant infections? : thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Toombs-Ruane, LeahRisk factors for community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI) caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-(ESBL) and AmpC beta-lactamase-(ACBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae were investigated in a prospective case-control study conducted between August 2015 and September 2017. Both cases and controls were from the Auckland and Northland regions of New Zealand. A telephone questionnaire was delivered to participants, and the results analysed for putative risk factors for human infections. Analysis was performed using regression models, including factors around pet ownership and any other animal contact. Faecal samples were submitted from some households; this included samples from both people and companion animals. Isolates collected from index case urine samples and ESBL- or ACBL-producing faecal samples were sequenced and subsequently analysed through a bioinformatics pipeline. Pet ownership was not found to be a risk for human ESBL- or AmpC-producing infections in this study. Another important finding of this research was that E. coli ST-131 was the most commonly found bacteria associated with the UTI from people recruited into the case-control study. The strains of this sequence type were likely to have entered New Zealand in multiple introductions over the last 20 years. Transmission of ESBL-/ACBLproducing E. coli was also suspected to have occurred within households where a person had been recently infected with the same bacteria (in the form of a UTI) caused by an ESBL-/ACBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The results of this study as a whole indicate that while pets may not be a major risk for acquisition of ESBL/ACBL-producing bacteria, they are likely to play a role in the transmission of bacteria within homes and the community, and therefore warrant attention in future work.Item Women and their fur-babies : leaving family violence together : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology, at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2017) Gillespie-Gray, JasmineThe use of animal abuse as a coercive control technique within intimate partner violence is found in nearly half of all violent relationships. Concern for their animals’ well-being, fear for their own safety and difficulty finding temporary animal accommodation leads to women remaining in these relationships. Te Whare Tiaki Wahine Refuge is the only women’s refuge in New Zealand that makes formal provision for animals at their safe houses, enabling women and animals to leave violence together. This research explores the relationship women have with their animals within the context of intimate partner violence, positions animals as victims of family violence themselves, and asks why the service Te Whare Tiaki Wahine Refuge offers is important in enabling women and their animals to leave family violence together. Three women who had animals and were residing at Te Whare Tiaki Wahine Refuge, two Te Whare Tiaki Wahine Refuge social workers and four Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals staff volunteered to participate in conversational interviews that were focused on women’s relationships with their animals and experiences of animal abuse and intimate partner violence. The provision of accommodation for animals leaving violence was investigated. The interviews were voice-recorded, transcribed and analysed using feminist standpoint epistemology and Riessman’s (1993) method of narrative inquiry. The analysis represents the strength of women’s relationships with their animals and the importance of them being able to leave their violent relationships together. Animals were positioned as victims of family violence within this research, resulting from the animals’ experiences of physical abuse, purposeful neglect and emotional suffering. Women were found to generally position their animals to be part of the family and an important source of comfort, unconditional love and companionship, especially during difficult times. Having these animals at the safe house with them meant that the women were able to settle in to the safe house better and focus on moving forward with their lives, rather than worrying about their animal’s safety or grieve the loss of, or temporary separation from, their relationship with their animal. This research has highlighted the need for systematic changes to the way we understand family violence and how we view animals within our society, and the need for the development and implementation of programs, like Tiaki have, that enable women, children and animals to leave violence together.Item Companion animals in families and households : a survey of attitudes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Psychology at Massey University(Massey University, 1990) Budge, Rachel ClaireDuring the last three decades, there has been growing interest in the relationship between humans and their animal companions. The majority of research has been undertaken in Great Britain and the United States. The present research adds to this body of information through a survey of companion animals in Christchurch, New Zealand. The aim of the study is to explore the role of pets and their positions within the family or household, relative to human family members. The focus of the research is the extent to which people think of their pets just as animals or as actual family members. The subjects were 117 pet owning volunteers 68 percent of whom were female. The questionnaire was based on those used by Cain (1977) and Horn and Meer (1984) and was distributed to pet owners through veterinary surgeries, pet shops and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Sample demographic characteristics and frequency data relating to the survey questions are reported. A set of cross-tabulations were undertaken to investigate question responses in relation to demographic variables, and Chi-square tests performed. It was found that most respondents considered their pets to be members of the family and the majority thought them to be human or almost human members. Significant gender differences were found with respect to how respondents view their pets on the human/animal continuum. Significant differences between cats and dogs were also found concerning obedience, outings and neutering. The current data have been contrasted with other studies where the same or similar questions have been asked. Overall, this sample of New Zealand animal owners does not appear to be markedly different to overseas respondents in their views on companion animals.Item Human and companion animal compatibility : stereotypes and health consequences : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University(Massey University, 1996) Budge, Rachel ClaireThe major theme of this thesis is compatibility of human-companion animal relationships, particularly with respect to cats and dogs. This theme was explored from two perspectives, the first of which focused on how the compatibility of people and their pets is perceived by others and involved three studies of stereotypes about human-pet compatibility. The second perspective consisted of one study which focused on some of the health consequences of the experience of compatibility between pets and their owners for the latter. In the first of the stereotype studies, 102 participants matched up ten photographs of people with ten photographs of pets and provided reasons for their selections. Chi-square analyses demonstrated significant matching trends, i.e. stereotypes, for all but one of the ten target persons. Examination of the reasons for selections suggested that participants used similar themes to those traditionally found in person perception studies (gender, age, hair colour etc.) to categorise the target persons, and made pet selections on this basis. The second study provided profiles of nine target persons who varied on a number of dimensions. One hundred and seventy two participants selected a pet for each target person, specifying the species, breed, sex and name of each pet. It was hypothesized that female target persons would receive a greater number of small dogs and cats than larger dogs, and males would be given medium to large sized dogs more frequently than small dogs and cats. It was also hypothesised that target persons would receive more same sex than opposite sex pets. Results of chi-square analyses of the animal species, breed and sex information provided some support for both hypotheses and suggested that there are certain stereotypical perceptions of particular person-pet combinations. The third study involved 542 participants who rated slides depicting a man and a woman, alone or accompanied by a dog or a cat, on 40 psychological attributes. Contrary to predictions, the woman was seen more favourably with the dog than with the cat or alone, and the man was rated more positively with the cat or alone than with the dog. The final study concentrated on actual relationships between people and their pets and introduced compatibility as a key dimension. A study was conducted to examine the effects of compatibility, attachment and social support on mental health and physical symptoms. One hundred and seventy six pet owners completed a questionnaire incorporating a compatibility measure developed for this study, the Pet Attachment Survey, the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, the Mental Health Inventory and a shortened version of Pennebaker's Inventory of Limbic Languidness. Regression analyses showed that compatibility was independently associated with better mental health. Unexpectedly pet attachment was positively associated with physical symptoms and not mental health. Social support was positively related to mental health but not physical symptoms. No interaction or mediating effects were discovered. The findings of the stereotype studies suggest that there are certain person pet combinations which are perceived to be more compatible than others, which are dependent primarily on age and sex characteristics of the owner. The final study showed that actual compatibility between pet and owner can be quantified and that it is associated with beneficial health effects for the owner.