Millennials and the human-animal bond

HABRI study: Education leads to better care for pets

The notion that education can lead to behavior change is not a new one. As a practice, we educate our clients on the importance of preventive care—from dental health to proper nutrition. The Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) has taken this notion one step further through their recent survey which takes a scientific look at exactly how education around the human-animal bond correlates to behavior change in pet owners. This survey found that knowing the scientific benefits of the human-animal bond motivates pet owners to take better care of their pets.

Growing awareness

According to the survey, seventy-one percent of pet owners are aware of the scientific findings related to the human health benefits of owning pets, which result in multiple positive implications for our profession, including:

• When educated about the scientific research on the health benefits of pets, 62% of pet owners are less likely to skip visits to the veterinarian
• When educated about the scientific research on the health benefits of pets, 92% of pets owners are more likely to maintain their pet’s health and keep up on vaccines

Meaning to millennials

The survey also examined views and reactions by generation and found millennials were particularly interested in learning about the human-animal bond benefits from their veterinarian:

• 77% of millennials would have a more favorable view of their veterinarian if they discussed the health benefits of the human-animal bond with them
• 74% of millennials would be more likely to visit their veterinarian if they discussed the health benefits of the human-animal bond with them
• 25% of millennials always talk to their veterinarians about the health benefits of pet ownership, more than other generations

See the complete survey results

About our partnership with HABRI

Banfield proudly supports the human-animal bond through our involvement with the Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI), a nonprofit research and education organization that is gathering, funding and sharing the scientific research that demonstrates the positive health impacts of animals on people. We work together to:

• Enhance the understanding of the benefits of the human-animal bond.
• Advocate for public policies that will bring the benefits of pets to more people in communities.