Human-Animal Relationships

As a society and as individuals, we care deeply about the companion animals who share our homes and communities. Our relationships with our pets are affected by many individual, family, and community variables. To improve the lives of people and their companion animals, we must understand how these factors interact to impact human-animal relationships and well-being.

CAPP is dedicated to applying a range of high-quality scientific methods from many disciplines to understand the complex systems in which humans and companion animals interact and how these interactions can promote human and animal health. Our research has direct applications to improving the human-animal bond and reducing barriers to mutually beneficial relationships for families who share their home with pets. CAPP also supports high-quality animal-assisted interventions with trained therapy animals through the Tufts Paws for People program.

We provide opportunities for students who are interested in working in the growing field of human-animal interaction to gain the foundational knowledge that will equip them to be the next leaders in this evolving discipline as researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.