“Common Bonds” and the human-animal bond – exploring social, emotional and moral growth in incarcerated youth working with shelter dogs through the lens of the One Welfare model

Animal-assisted support programs (AASPs) are emerging as innovative interventions aimed at addressing social, emotional, behavioral and moral challenges in youth in detention settings. Despite their growing popularity, research on these programs remains limited, particularly regarding their curriculum development, implementation, and potential contributions to social-emotional and moral growth in youth. In this paper, we present a case study of the development of a new curriculum to accompany two animal-assisted support programs that work with at-risk youth and shelter dogs, Lifetime Bonds (Illinois) and Teacher’s Pet (Michigan). We discuss the intuitive appeal of such programs which masks the many challenges of working with two institutionalized and at-risk populations. We also consider other ways to assess the benefits of such programs, such as how these interactions foster empathy, moral growth, and resilience by examining themes revealed in some of the youths’ own words.