Companion Animals and Us: Exploring the Relationships between People and Pets

by Edited by Anthony L. Podberscek , Elizabeth S. Paul , James A. Serpell

• ISBN13: 9780521631136
• ISBN10: 0521631130
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-04-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Over the past 30 years there has been a tremendous growth in interest in the multidisciplinary field of human-companion animal interactions and relationships. This is not surprising considering that pets are kept in at least half of the households in Western societies. What then, is so special about the relationships people have with their pets? Are we very different from our ancestors in the ways we feel about animals? What does pet-keeping tell us about ourselves and our relationships with people? Can pets be good for our health? Do they help promote empathy for other humans? These questions and more are explored in this book. Companion Animals and Us brings together some of the newest research from a wide variety of disciplines including anthropology, history, psychology, sociology, human and veterinary medicine. This book will make fascinating reading for anyone interested in understanding more about the human-pet relationship.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	x
Introduction	1	(6)
Anthony L. Podberscek
Elizabeth S. Paul
James A. Serpell
Part I History and culture
The social significance of pet-keeping among Amazonian Indians	7	(20)
Philippe Erikson
Motivations for pet-keeping in Ancient Greece and Rome: a preliminary survey	27	(15)
Liliane Bodson
Hunting and attachment to dogs in the Pre-Modern Period	42	(19)
Sophia Menache
Children, `insects' and play in Japan	61	(29)
Erick L. Laurent
The horse bar mitzvah: a celebratory exploration of the human--animal bond	90	(18)
Norine Dresser
Creatures of the unconscious: companion animals as mediators	108	(17)
James A. Serpell
Part II The nature of the relationship
Companion animals and human health: physical and cardiovascular influences	125	(18)
Erika Friedmann
Sue A. Thomas
Timothy J. Eddy
Personality research on pets and their owners: conceptual issues and review	143	(25)
Anthony L. Podberscek
Samuel D. Gosling
Love of pets and love of people	168	(21)
Elizabeth S. Paul
Part III Pets, families and interactions
The influence of current relationships upon pet animal acquisition	189	(20)
Rachael M. Harker
Glyn M. Collis
June McNicholas
Pets in the network of family relationships: an empirical study	209	(28)
Sheila Bonas
June Mcnicholas
Glyn M. Collis
The meaning of companion animals: qualitative analysis of the life histories of elderly cat and dog owners	237	(20)
Marie-Jose Enders-Slegers
Human--cat interactions: relationships with, and breed differences between, non-pedigree, Persian and Siamese cats	257	(18)
Dennis C. Turner
Part IV Welfare and ethics
Secondary victimization in companion animal abuse: the owner's perspective	275	(17)
Arnold Arluke
Veterinary dilemmas: ambiguity and ambivalence in human--animal interaction	292	(21)
Joanna Swabe
Rethinking bestiality: towards a concept of interspecies sexual assault	313	(19)
Piers Beirne
Index	332