Cold hands and Cuddle Monsters: exploring subjective experience and psychological wellbeing with volunteers in a community pet rescue centre

Stevenson, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5923-4627 (2025) Cold hands and Cuddle Monsters: exploring subjective experience and psychological wellbeing with volunteers in a community pet rescue centre. Social Work in Mental Health. ISSN 1533-2985

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Abstract

The psychological benefits of human-animal interaction (HAI) for pet owners and animal carers are well-documented. To further explore community-based HAI and psychological wellbeing, this paper presents findings from an ethnography at a pet rescue centre. Nine volunteers were interviewed and observed whilst looking after rabbits, chickens, goats and ducks. An interpretive phenomenological analysis produced four themes relating to the experience and psychological benefits of the work; (i) holistic, individual care, (ii) volunteer resilience, (iii) communities and interactions, and (iv) porous boundaries, strong connections. This research extends the psychological literature on HAI, which mainly focuses on pet ownership and therapeutic HAI.