Attachment to Pets An Integrative View of Human-Animal Relationships with Implications for Therapeutic Practice

"Attachment to Pets provides an in-depth discussion on the roots of our attachment to animals. The book helps conceptualize the rationale for our care taking of pets and provides valuable insights into the basis of animal-assisted therapy. The book is an excellent resource for the scientific community and policy makers studying human-animal interactions and, above all, for all those interested in using animals in a therapeutic context." Aubrey H. Fine EdD, Professor, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, Psychologist Editor of The Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy Author of Afternoons with Puppy and Give a Dog Your Heart "This much-needed integrative book explains how the relationship between animals and therapists/clients can effectively be used to provide animal-assisted interventions with positive out-comes. It also presents a valuable scholarly framework that advances the endeavors of the Inter-national Society for Animal-Assisted Therapy. The authors first analyze the physiology of attachment and caregiving, explaining the role of the autonomic nervous system and oxytocin, and go on to describe the evolution of behavioral systems and different types of attachment. Insecure and disorganized attachment patterns have adverse effects in which attachment and caregiving relationships are not fully developed. The authors then connect the attachment and caregiving systems to the neuroendocrine oxytocinergic system. They subsequently focus on the question of how human-animal relationships fit within these perspectives." Lynette Hart, PhD, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis