Animals Take Part In New Course
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People have been making animals a part of their lives for well over 10,000 years, but this fall a group of students are sharing their classroom with their canine, feline and even reptilian friends.
Assistant Professor Gaylene Fasenko and her associate Ana Franco are leading the new elective course "Animals and Society" at the University of Alberta. The first year course, which is open to any student with an interest in animals, will look at the physiology, behaviour, health, nutrition and different breeds of companion animals and examine the relationship between companion animals and human health and wellness.
A 1999 study from the University of Guelph indicated that 75 per cent of pets receive birthday and Christmas presents, something that would have been unheard of several hundred years ago, when the animal was viewed primarily as a beast of burden. Throughout the semester students in Fasenko's course will consider this continually evolving roll of animals in people's daily lives.
The lecture-based course will also contains a laboratory component during which students will have opportunities to interact with live animals, and it's likely that even Fasenko's two West Highland Terriers will attend class from time to time.
The course is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, although similar courses do operate at various post-secondary schools throughout the U.S. In fact, the Center for Respect of Life & Environment and the Humane Society of the United States work together each year to provide financial awards to college and university courses worldwide that address the subject of Animals and Society. Awards are given away for the top established, new and most innovative classes in graduate and undergraduate studies.
Fasenko says that her class at the Universtity of Alberta will appeal to students training to become vets, nurses, and psychologists as well as those studying medicine and sciences. Some of the topics that will be considered during the class include how dogs have been used to sniff out certain kinds of cancers and how certain breeds can even predict seizures in humans. Students will also consider how other animals such as horses can be used in physical therapy, how smaller pets like snakes and frogs can provide an outlet for a child's imagination, and how a purring cat can lower someone's blood pressure or heart rate.
The first laboratory session for the class will include a guest lecture from a member of the Edmonton Pointing Dog Club. Pointing dogs are trained to seek out and point their muzzle towards game when their owners are hunting, and it's one of the oldest occupations held by canines. Upcoming labs sessions will include a search and rescue dog demonstration, a field trip to a dog obedience training facility, a visit to a horse racing park, and guest lectures by a local cat fanciers club, the Pet Therapy Society of Northern Alberta, and the Edmonton Humane Society.