pets, people and urban places
TRANSCRIPT
Pets in the city:Living together in urban areas
Melanie Rock, MSW, PhD (Anthropology), RSWAssociate Scientific Director, O’Brien Institute for Public Health
Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine
Department of Ecosystem and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Social Work
Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education
www.ucalgary.ca/mrock
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Melanie Rock
Associate Scientific Director, O’Brien Institute for Public Health
Medical anthropologist, health promoter and social worker
Competitive funding (e.g., CIHR, SSHRC) since 2004 for human-animal studies vis-à-vis healthy cities, communities
Born, raised in rural Alberta @rock_m (on Twitter)
Pets in Canada – By the numbers
56% of Canadian households have dogs and/or cats
23% had only cats 20% had only dogs 13% had dogs AND cats
12% had fish 5% had birds 2% had rabbits, hamsters 1% had another species of pet
Pets in Canada – Money matters
Diabetes Diabetic Pet-Care
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qualm/356126823/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/qualm/356126823/
Multi-species families
‘She would absolutely cry when it was needle time. And that, that I think is why I was so upset.’
(cited in Rock & Babinec, 2010)
Multi-species families
‘I watched him, and he was real sluggish, and he was going out to pee a lot, and drinking a lot of water. And, see, ‘cause I got diabetes, I know that’s what you do.’(cited in Rock & Babinec, 2008)
Multi-species families
‘I had him crash on me a couple of times where his blood sugar went so low that he became very disoriented and couldn’t walk.’
(cited in Rock & Babinec, 2008)
Diabetic pet-care Dog-walking
Multi-species families
(cited in Degeling & Rock, 2013)
‘It was not just a walking experience, it was a . . . it was a total, an all-in experience… So the dog might get out of bed and get you going in the morning, and you enjoyed it all the way through.’
Multi-species families
Dog-owners 3x more likely to walk year-round in their neigbourhoods, compared with non-dog-owners in Calgary
Multi-species communities
Frequent dog-walkers felt more connected to neighbourhoods, compared with non-dog-owners & infrequent dog-walkers in Calgary
Multi-species communities ?
‘A specific group of people, often living in a defined geographical area, who share a common culture, values and norms, are arranged in a social structure according to relationships which the community has developed over a period of time.’ World Health Organization Health Promotion Glossary ( Nutbeam 1998)
Multi-species public health ?
‘the efforts organized by society to protect, promote, and restore the people’s health’Dictionary of Epidemiology (Last 2001)
Multi-species publics ?
Concerning the people as a whole
Performed, perceived, or exists in ways that are open to all
Rational thought Rational speech Rational writing
Problems produce publics,to seek solutions
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Melanie J. Rock et al. Health Promot. Int. 2014;heapro.dau017© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email:
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Melanie J. Rock et al. Health Promot. Int. 2014;heapro.dau017© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email:
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Melanie J. Rock et al. Health Promot. Int. 2014;heapro.dau017© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email:
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Outdoor signage publicizing public engagement (Photograph credits: Lindsay Burton and Kenda Swanson).
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Source: 2012 Annual Report, Animal and Bylaw Services, City of Calgary
CALGARY -- A judge has ruled that a man who killed an Alberta peace officer who had come to his property to investigate a dog complaint is not criminally responsible.
Dawn Rault, MA (Human Security & Peacebuilding) - PhD Candidate
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Calgary = Model City, yet…
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Calgary = Model City for Policies on Pets
Summary
People’s pets = family members •Pets = private property, too
Pets create communities •Pets may divide communities
Pets participate in public life•People’s pets influence politics
With gratitude…
Funders: SSHRC, CIHR, ProvAB
UCalgary (O’Brien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine,
Vice-President Research / Human Dynamics)
Partnered organizations: City of Calgary, Calgary Humane Society, Meow Foundation
Collaborators & Students (past & present)
Please visit:www.ucalgary.ca/mrock
Thank you
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