Examining the Impact of Virtual Animal Stimuli on College Students' Affect and Perception of their Academic Advising Experience.

The benefits of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) involving animals in therapy are widely accepted. The presence of animals in therapy can decrease a patient's reservation about therapy and promote a sense of comfort and rapport during the therapy process. Using survey data from college students (n = 152) attending a large public four-year institution, this study is the first to investigate the benefits of virtual animal stimuli during academic advising appointments. It posits that exposure to virtual animal stimuli can influence positive mental health and well-being in academic advising settings. Specifically, the research questions explored how different types of video content influence students' affect and how virtual animal stimuli impact students' perception of their advisor and university. College students were randomly assigned to watch one of four types of virtual stimuli (wild animals, companion animals, nature, and a control) prior to their advising session. Subjective measures were collected at baseline and after the advising session. Results indicated animal stimuli increase positive affect, and companion animal stimuli influence the student's perception of the advisor. This study supports the notion that companion animal videos positively impact students' well-being and interactions with their advisors and may have broader implications beyond the academic setting.

Introduction

This book chapter aims to introduce the concept of One Health, which recognizes the complex interconnectedness between humans, animals, and the environment. It provides a historical overview of the development of this concept, including its resurgence in the 21st century due to the emergence of zoonotic diseases. Furthermore, the chapter outlines various global initiatives, including the Manhattan Principles, Tripartite Agreement, and the One Health High-Level Expert Panel, which was established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter laso highlights the significant challenges that hinder the successful implementation of One Health, including inadequate communication between various disciplines. It emphasizes the importance of considering the human-animal bond and the wider community when dealing with patients and recognizes the critical role of veterinary nursing in promoting One Health at the local and community levels. Finally, the chapter encourages readers to apply the knowledge gained from the book and use it to advance the concept of One Health as they progress through their careers.

A world in forced pause: human relationships with other animals for global welfare

According to physics principles, any action produces a reaction and generates consequences. Under this premise, it is essential to reflect on the actions we have in our relationships with other animals in current times. Our actions always bring implications, in many cases, affecting the welfare of animals, humans, or the planet. A unique virus, COVID-19, caused a pandemic, with more than 50 million cases in 188 countries as of November 2020. Evidence indicates its spread was a consequence of the human relationship with wild animals used for marketing and consumption, generating radical changes in social and economic dynamics, and significantly impacting animals. The lockdowns slowed down daily life, forced stop using vehicles, and reduce our excessive consumption of things. In just a few months, nature has shown that fauna can return to places where it had not been present for decades, the water cleared, the air cleaned, and a kind of natural balance returned. During the forced human quarantine, the outlook for production animals showed the fragility and low resilience of high-density industrialized systems. The excess of animals in contrast to the low number of processing plants (large in size, and therefore fragile when facing a problem like this) resulted in the emergency slaughter of millions of animals on farms. In the case of companion animals, they have suffered collateral damage due to conscious or involuntary relinquishment due to cities' surprise closures;additionally, humans' constant presence at home has generated multiple behavioral problems. For animals in zoos, the situation is also difficult, as visitors' absence reduced incomes;it has put many zoos around the world at risk of closure. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on animal, environmental, and human welfare is clear. Hence, the objective is to analyze the impact of the pandemic on global welfare.

Responsible ownership of companion animals under the ..One Health.. approach. Compilation study

Pet ownership (PO) exerts beneficial effects on the physical and psycho-emotional health of the people with whom they live, even in pandemic contexts. Animals benefit from receiving attention and care and avoiding health risks, based on the ..One Health.. approach. Considering the contributions and importance of the subject, a compilation study of works carried out by the authors was carried out to determine the perception of the benefits of PO in different population sectors. These were exploratory and descriptive studies, cross-sectional and quantitative conducted at the National Institute of Endocrinology and the main Veterinary Clinic of Havana, in which people responsible for companion animals (PO). These people had chronic diseases (cardiovascular and endocrine-metabolic), sexual and reproductive health conditions (infertility) and sexual identity (homoerotic and transsexual sexual orientation), in different stages of life (middle and elderly), from 2013 to 2020 (during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic). Selfadministered questionnaires prepared by the research team were used. The results were processed using descriptive statistics and ethical aspects were considered. Most of the participants expressed satisfaction with PO, perceived its benefits on their physical and emotional health, motivated them to take better care of themselves and engage in physical activities, and during the COVID- 19 pandemic. Besides, PO decreased the negative effects of social distancing. Dogs and cats were the preferred animals for emotional reasons.

COVID 19 - induced stress in dogs owned by elderly people

The study was conducted over a period of 2 months, between March and May 2020, in collaboration with 3 private clinics in Moldova region on 23 dogs of different breeds, sex and ages, paraclinically examined by hematological and biochemical tests. The inclusion criterion in the study was the ownership of all subjects by elderly persons affected.by COVID 19 limitations during the emergency state in Romania. The study aimed to establish the correlation between the limited walking time in dogs and the level of stress induced by it. Each subject underwent 2 paraclinical check-ups in term of hematological testing and cortisol dosage at the end of March and beginning of May. Also, a control group of 13 dogs owned by active people was examined in a similar manner, both at the beginning of the experiment and also at the end of it. Compared with the initial values which were highly elevated (10,89..1,66 g/dl) in all dogs owned by elderly people, the second testing revealed values comparable to normal, but still increased (4,85..1,22 g/dl). The study demonstrates the impact of COVID 19 limitations in terms of outdoor time for dogs which produced transitional changes in cortisol levels, but also the adaptive compensatory mechanisms used to cope with modified environmental conditions.