Promoting, Preserving, and Providing the Power of Animal Companionship
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Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
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Identify 3 or more challenges that people face that can result in them losing their pets.
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Identify 2 barriers to mutually beneficial relationships.
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Summarize the innovative, person-centered approach to accessing people at risk through their love of animals described in the presentation.
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Make a plan to work collaboratively with local animal companionship support services to harness the power of the human-animal bond.
Educational Goal
The educational goal of this workshop is to introduce an innovative approach to providing care for both people and animals so that others can also provide the support that is needed.
Description
This presentation will describe a community outreach holistic approach where veterinary trained professionals collaborate with colleagues in other health and social professions in their communities to deliver a range of Animal Companionship Support Services (ACSS) to improve the quality of life of people and animals. It will explain how people and animals experiencing vulnerability can be supported with a relatively low cost diagnostic and preventative health initiative
Presenters
Bin Johnston MA VetMB MRCVS founded and runs the Suffolk, UK charity, ‘Our Special Friends’ www.ourspecialfriends.org providing human-animal support services to vulnerable people with a love of animals. After graduating from Cambridge Vet School, Bin was a founder partner of a London clinic before marriage took her to Suffolk. Studying person-centered counseling skills and her volunteering for Cruse (human bereavement) and the Samaritans developed her passionate interest in bereavement training and the need for multidisciplinary community support for people and animals experiencing vulnerability to ensure their welfare needs are identified and met. She founded and runs the Suffolk, UK charity, ‘Our Special Friends’ providing animal companionship support services and developing the new role of an animal companionship practitioner.