Dear HABIC community,
February 1, 2026
Recent months have been marked by meaningful progress at HABIC across training, research, and student engagement—reflecting our continued commitment to strengthening the human–animal bond through education, scholarship, and community partnership.
One of the most visible areas of growth has been our training programs. Led by Kate Miller, our lead trainer, and Sarah King, our new part-time trainer, the team launched several new classes and further refined HABIC’s therapy animal training program. With communications and outreach support from Tricia Howley, this expansion has increased access to high-quality training and strengthened pathways for students and community members to engage meaningfully in human–animal bond–centered education and practice.
As HABIC’s community presence continues to grow, we have also been heartened to see the impact of the training program reflected in community feedback. Recent HABIC Google page reviews highlight the care, professionalism, and exceptional coordination across HABIC’s training, communications, and placement efforts that support meaningful engagement. I invite you to explore these reflections—and, if you wish, share your own experience.
Beyond training, HABIC’s mission continues to extend outward through community engagement and partnership. During this period, Amelia Malone collaborated with the CSU School of Social Work’s Committee for Social Justice to organize a supply drive in support of the Street Dog Coalition, extending HABIC’s impact beyond campus and into the broader community. A special thank you to the HABIC Advisory Committee members who helped host the event, as well as to everyone who contributed time, supplies, and support to make this effort possible.
Alongside this community-facing work, support for HABIC’s research mission has allowed us to expand key collaborations and deepen our scholarly work. We were pleased to welcome Dr. Lori Kogan, Professor in CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, as a HABIC Research Affiliate; together, we have launched a new study embedded in HABIC’s campus de-stress events, focused on volunteer experiences and animal well-being.
Additionally, HABIC’s research infrastructure continues to grow through the RISE HAI Lab. As part of this work, HABIC Doctoral Fellow Jada Ford recently presented our collaborative research at the Society for Social Work and Research annual conference in Washington, DC. The study examines race, resilience, and the human–animal bond and was conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Tufts University. Centering Black Americans’ perspectives, this work advances equity and access at the intersection of social work and human–animal interaction.
Together, these initiatives establish a strong foundation for HABIC’s next phase of growth as a national hub for human–animal interaction work. Fully realizing this potential will require continued investment to scale research, deepen training pathways, and sustain community-engaged impact. We are deeply grateful to the volunteers, students, partners, and donors who invest in this work through their time, expertise, resources, and trust, and we look forward to continuing to build what comes next together.
With gratitude,
Shelby E. McDonald, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Director, Human–Animal Bond in Colorado (HABIC)
Sarama Bliss Endowed Chair in Human-Animal Interaction