Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction

04/13/2026

Open House at the College of Veterinary Medicine is a chance to see what veterinary medicine is all about!
Bring the family to tour the college, meet veterinary students and enjoy interactive exhibits, animal activities and educational presentations throughout the day.
Saturday, May 2 | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
1520 East Rollins St. Columbia, MO
Learn more: mizzou.us/cvm-open-house

Open House at the College of Veterinary Medicine is a chance to see what veterinary medicine is all about!

Bring the family to tour the college, meet veterinary students and enjoy interactive exhibits, animal activities and educational presentations throughout the day.

Saturday, May 2 | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
1520 East Rollins St. Columbia, MO

Learn more: mizzou.us/cvm-open-house

04/02/2026

Talking to your pets like people isn't just cute, it's quietly training you to be more honest and emotionally available in your human relationships too

03/17/2026

https://ihpi.umich.edu/national-poll-healthy-aging/national-findings/how-pets-contribute-healthy-aging-benefits-challenges

Over half of adults age 50 and older have a pet, with most pet owners reporting that pets provide many key health benefits; however, pet owners age 50-80 in 2025 were less likely than their counterparts in 2018 to endorse several of these benefits

03/05/2026

Must Love Dogs
The OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute, through the University of MO, offers courses for adults ages 50 and up on a wide range of topics. In the course Must Love Dogs, participants will (1) learn how the similarities and differences between dogs and people affect the way we experience life and our shared environments, (2) learn how to read behavioral cues of dogs, (3) discuss the science behind the positive effects of human-animal interaction and (4) develop a deeper appreciation for the varied roles of dogs in our society.
The course is available through OSHER, so click on their web link for availability.

Must Love Dogs The connection between people and animals, also referred to as the human-animal bond (HAB), can have significant health impacts. In this course, we will explore (1) how the similarities and differences between dogs and people affect the way we experience life and our shared environmen...

02/08/2026

Scroll down and click on the link for the MU College of Veterinary Medicine to see the exciting research being conducted.

November 3rd is One Health Day, with the goal of bringing attention to the need for One Health and to ‘see it in action’. Accordingly, we are holding a COHA ‘Film Festival’ to showcase the great One Health work being done by the 17 COHA veterinary schools in partnership with medical and othe...

01/29/2026

Researchers found that teens who had dogs were more sociable than those who didn't, and said it could be due to the sharing of microbes.

01/13/2026

How many words does your dog know?

Children as young as 18 months can acquire novel words by overhearing third-party interactions. Demonstrating similar learning processes in nonhuman species would indicate that the social-cognitive skills supporting this process are not exclusively human ...

01/06/2026

When an acute spinal cord injury landed me (Director Dr. Carolyn Henry) in a wheelchair at Rusk Rehabilitation in 2022, the human-animal bond aided my healing. Our bulldog rescue, Meatball, and Golden retriever, BoBo, lifted my spirits whenever they visited. Fast-forward to this holiday season which found me undergoing spinal fusion surgery on Christmas Eve and transferring back to Rusk Rehabilitation once again on New Years Eve. Today I was visited by Kenny, our Golden who turned 2 yesterday. I'm reminded of the power of the human-animal bond and the unconditional love that awaits me when I get to go home.

01/05/2026

Our furry friends provide more than just companionship.

12/31/2025

We are grateful for all our supporters in 2025 and look forward to an exciting 2026!
Happy New Year from the team at ReCHAI!

12/10/2025

Hear more about ReCHAI doctoral student Don Cherry and how he went from being a professional football player to graduate school in animal behavior research!

Podcast Episode · Driftwood Outdoors Podcast · 12/09/2025 · 1h 29m